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The Raven Cycle #3
Blue Lily, Lily Blue
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Best Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction (2014)The third installment in the all-new series from the #1 NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Maggie Stiefvater!
Blue Sargent has found things. For the first time in her life, she has friends she can trust, a group to which she can belong. The Raven Boys have taken her in as one of their own. Their problems have become hers, and her problems have become theirs.
The trick with found things, though, is how easily they can be lost.
Friends can betray.
Mothers can disappear.
Visions can mislead.
Certainties can unravel.
Blue Sargent has found things. For the first time in her life, she has friends she can trust, a group to which she can belong. The Raven Boys have taken her in as one of their own. Their problems have become hers, and her problems have become theirs.
The trick with found things, though, is how easily they can be lost.
Friends can betray.
Mothers can disappear.
Visions can mislead.
Certainties can unravel.
391 pages, Hardcover
First published October 21, 2014
About the author
Maggie Stiefvater
86 books167k followersNew York Times bestselling author of The Shiver Trilogy, The Raven Cycle, and The Scorpio Races. Artist. Driver of things with wheels. Avid reader.
Maggie Stiefvater plays several musical instruments (most infamously, the bagpipes) and makes art in several media (most generally, colored pencils).
She lives in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia with her husband, their two children, many dogs, a bunch of fainting goats, and a mating pair of growly tuner cars.
Maggie Stiefvater plays several musical instruments (most infamously, the bagpipes) and makes art in several media (most generally, colored pencils).
She lives in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia with her husband, their two children, many dogs, a bunch of fainting goats, and a mating pair of growly tuner cars.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 16,530 reviews
December 1, 2015
I only need one thing----> Ronan x Adam.
The story picks up where it left off. Boys are starting school again and Blue's mother is still missing. They're still trying to find Glendower, the long lost king. Gray Man's employed is in Henrietta looking for a payback. Now, I don't want to reveal anything else about the plot cause even the blurb is rather vague.
What I want to talk about are the characters. It seems Adam is the main one this time. Others all had their chapters but I feel as if he was in all of them a lot more. He's my favorite Raven Boy, like I mentioned a hundred times already. He's still hardworking as ever. Honorable, honest and proud. He's also spending more time with Ronan, if you know what I mean. *wink, wink*
Then there's Ronan. *sigh* This guy! I mean, he's like a feral cat you want to bring home but you're scared it's going to ruin your sofa. You never know what to expect from him. He's unpredictable, wild, but at the same time extremely loyal to his family and friends. There is still so much we don't know about him.
Gansey is still a mystery to me. At times I think he has no personality and he's just there in every chapter. I know he's suppose to be the King of the gang but I don't see it. :/ Everybody likes him-boys in school, new people he meets and even Adam let go of his jealousy. He's helpful in a way a human can help a paranormal creature-basically not. I guess I'm the only one who doesn't care about his character.
Blue's trying to find her missing mother and is dealing with her feelings towards Gansey at the same time. She was focused and determined throughout the whole book. She might even discover some hidden power deep inside her.
If you're expecting kisses in this book, like me, you'll just going to have to wait for the 4th installment. Even though the book was focused towards the character development, romance was pushed even further out back. There were some progress and Pynch shippers will be happy to hear it. I can't wait for the next book because I feel that's when Pynch is going to happen.
The pacing was perfect and every chapter ended on a cliffhanger which made me scream. The book was unputdownable. And the writing is poetic. At times I had to go back and re-read parts because I thought there was something between the lines. How Maggie does this every time, I don't know. She'll always be on my auto-buy list.
Cover is beautiful. I love the colors but I'm not sure who's on it. Blue? It could be her.
The story picks up where it left off. Boys are starting school again and Blue's mother is still missing. They're still trying to find Glendower, the long lost king. Gray Man's employed is in Henrietta looking for a payback. Now, I don't want to reveal anything else about the plot cause even the blurb is rather vague.
What I want to talk about are the characters. It seems Adam is the main one this time. Others all had their chapters but I feel as if he was in all of them a lot more. He's my favorite Raven Boy, like I mentioned a hundred times already. He's still hardworking as ever. Honorable, honest and proud. He's also spending more time with Ronan, if you know what I mean. *wink, wink*
Then there's Ronan. *sigh* This guy! I mean, he's like a feral cat you want to bring home but you're scared it's going to ruin your sofa. You never know what to expect from him. He's unpredictable, wild, but at the same time extremely loyal to his family and friends. There is still so much we don't know about him.
Gansey is still a mystery to me. At times I think he has no personality and he's just there in every chapter. I know he's suppose to be the King of the gang but I don't see it. :/ Everybody likes him-boys in school, new people he meets and even Adam let go of his jealousy. He's helpful in a way a human can help a paranormal creature-basically not. I guess I'm the only one who doesn't care about his character.
Blue's trying to find her missing mother and is dealing with her feelings towards Gansey at the same time. She was focused and determined throughout the whole book. She might even discover some hidden power deep inside her.
If you're expecting kisses in this book, like me, you'll just going to have to wait for the 4th installment. Even though the book was focused towards the character development, romance was pushed even further out back. There were some progress and Pynch shippers will be happy to hear it. I can't wait for the next book because I feel that's when Pynch is going to happen.
The pacing was perfect and every chapter ended on a cliffhanger which made me scream. The book was unputdownable. And the writing is poetic. At times I had to go back and re-read parts because I thought there was something between the lines. How Maggie does this every time, I don't know. She'll always be on my auto-buy list.
Cover is beautiful. I love the colors but I'm not sure who's on it. Blue? It could be her.
December 10, 2020
Faith in
“Blue,” he warned, but his voice was chaotic. This close, his throat was scented with mint and wool sweater and vinyl car seat, and Gansey, just Gansey.I would normally poke fun at YA for the drama and the weird boy-smells but I honestly can't.
She said, “I just want to pretend. I want to pretend that I could.”
Maggie Stiefvater has done such a wonderful job building this story that there's no room to be a sarcastic little snit about it.
It would be sacrilege.
Blue, Gansey, Ronan, Adam and Noah are about to go on one hellofa journey.
People will die, relationships will be broken and throughout all of that they have each other to lean on. Maggie Stiefvater creates such well-fleshed out characters that I sometimes forget they aren't real.
The rapport between the five of them just ties this entire story together.
“What do we do now?" Gansey asked.Gah! I just want them all to be real.
From the other room, Calla bellowed, "GO BUY US PIZZA. WITH EXTRA CHEESE, RICHIE RICH."
Blue said, "I think she's starting to like you.”
Adam was beginning to realize that he hadn't known Ronan at all. Or rather, he had known part of him and assumed it was all of him.You know that feeling when you want to just pull a character from the pages? Me too.
I'm so unconditionally in love with this series.
Audiobook Comments
Will Patton is a mastermind. With 5 rotating main characters, he manages to give each one a distinct voice and each voice has a life of its own. It's gotten to the point that when I read this book, instead of my internal monologue voice, I "hear" his voice. This man is probably my favorite reader ever.
Credit for the fantastic Ronan art:xla-hainex
YouTube | Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Snapchat @miranda_reads
October 26, 2022
“Humans were so circular; they lived the same slow cycles of joy and misery over and over, never learning. Every lesson in the universe had to be taught billions of times, and it never stuck.”
Oh my!!! She did it once again!
Whenever I’m convinced that Maggie’s last book was already the peak of perfection she always manages to persuade me otherwise! I don’t really know how she does it, but she’s soo damn good at what she does that it’s almost impossible not to love her books!!! <3
Needless to say that it was exactly the same with “Blue Lily, Lily Blue”!! XD
This book was so marvellous!!
I loved “The Raven Boys”,
I adored “The Dream Thieves”
BUT I was a complete sucker for “Blue Lily, Lily Blue”!!!
If it wasn’t already official, it definitely is now! I’m Maggie Stiefvater trash through and through and I just can’t imagine a world without her books anymore!!! *lol*
They give me LIFE!!! They make me feel! And over those last three months they’ve actually become the air that I breathe!!
I’m IN LOVE with Maggie’s writing AND each and every single one of her Raven Boys! <333
Their struggles, their anger, their pain, their hopes, their fears, their dreams, their vulnerability!!! It all feels so damn real!!! GOSH!!! I can’t even!!! XD
With every single book they’ve become even more palpable and real! I feel so strongly for those four boys it’s like they are actual people, like they are some of my closest friends! =))
And for that I’ll always be grateful!!! Maggie you’re an amazing writer!!! I hope you know that!! ;-P
(Just in case no one ever bothered to tell you… Which I truly doubt, but still!! *lol*)
The characters:
”Blue was perfectly aware that it was possible to have a friendship that wasn’t all-encompassing, that wasn’t blinding, deafening, maddening, quickening. It was just that now that she’d had this kind, she didn’t want the other.”
This is the moment I make sure to warn you about upcoming spoilers and quotes! ;-) If you haven’t read the book already you better click that tiny “x” button! It’s sound advice, I swear! ;-P
Gansey – The Knight:
”The Camaro was like Gansey tonight: terrifying and thrilling, willing to do whatever she asked.”
I swear, this time around I almost couldn’t bear it to read Gansey’s POV!!! My heart is bleeding for this poor boy and the more I get to know him the more it hurts!!! He’s such a gentle, honourable and delicate soul! If I had to draw a comparison I’d say the Gansey in “Blue Lily, Lily Blue” was like a Chinese Ming Vase: So damn beautiful to look at but so fragile and ancient that you could literally see the fissures spreading in his armour! He is so broken on the inside and I think Blue’s conversation with Malory made that more than just clear. When he told her that Gansey didn’t just claw his face but also was completely traumatized after his incident with the hornets I actually felt a lump in my throat!! This chapter was so intense I almost forgot to breathe and even though it hurts me so much to watch Gansey, I still want to know how it all ends!!! Please Maggie, don’t let him die!!! >_<
”There was another pause, and Gansey realized she’d hung up. He leaned back against the fridge, eyes closed, guilty, comforted, wild, contained. In twenty-four hours, he’d be waiting for this again.
”Gansey didn’t so much visit as get absorbed.
He loved it. He wanted to be a part of this world, even though he understood there were endless reasons why he could never be. Blue was the natural result of a home like this: confident, strange, credulous, curious. And here he was: neurotic, rarified, the product of something else entirely.”
”It’s very decent of you,” he continued, “to not say anything about it to me. It’s more than I deserved. But know that I’ve regretted it, a lot.”
Blue – The Mirror:
”Maura was always telling her, Look at the potential you hold inside yourself!
Potential for other people, though. Not for Blue.
Since this book was rather Blue centred I finally had the feeling that I actually got to know her a little bit better! No matter what I did, I just couldn’t seem to be able to grasp her character in the first two books. But now that I read “Blue Lily, Lily Blue” it was so much easier to understand her motives and the reasons why she’s acting the way she does. I felt so sorry for her because she actually suffered a lot! >_< The situation with her missing mother, her relationship to the boys and her intense feelings for Gansey, the troubles of finding a good college and last but not least Persephone’s unexpected death!!! T_T It’s quite a lot to have on your plate when you’re as young as her and I think she was very brave and strong for keeping it together for so long! <3
”She was tired of Persephone and Calla and her mother withholding information because Blue wasn’t psychic. Of not being able to daydream of fancy colleges because she wasn’t rich. Of not being able to hold Gansey’s hand because they couldn’t hurt Adam’s feelings and not being able to kiss Gansey’s mouth because she didn’t want to kill him. She was tired of knowing that he was going to die and being afraid that her mother would, too.
Adam – The Magician:
”He knew he was different since aligning himself more tightly with the ley line this summer. He was himself, but more powerful. Himself, but less human.”
I think I am in love with Adam Parrish! Like seriously, completely and utterly in love!!! <333 This boy is soo damn freaking A.M.A.Z.I.N.G and the Ronan in me just can’t stop to love him!!! XD Adam has become everything I wished him to be!!! He’s so strong now and his powers are growing with each and every single day!!! And it’s not just his powers, it’s the person he’s becoming!! Yes, some of his actions might be considered to be on the dark side, but oh damn this only makes him even more intriguing!!! <333 His sharp mind constantly caused me to swoon and his thoughts… OH GOD, his philosophical thoughts were just epic!!! XD I loved that he was the only one who was smart enough to realise that Gansey is on the list and I was so happy that he finally managed to jump over his own shadow and accepted help!!! And the conversation with his father!??!! ARGH!!! It made me so damn angry!!! I hate and despise this man with a fierce passion and I really hope I will never read anything about him again!!! *growls*
”The students kept coming in. Adam kept watching. He was good at this part, the observing of others. It was himself that he couldn’t seem to study or understand. How he despised them, how he wanted to be them. How pointless to summer in Maine, how much he wanted to do it. How affected he found their speech, how he coveted their lazy monotones. He couldn’t tell how all of these things could be equally true.”
”What an impossible and miraculous and hideous thing this was. An ugly plan hatched by an ugly boy now dreamt into ugly life. From dream to reality. How appropriate it was that Ronan, left to his own devices, manifested beautiful cars and beautiful birds and tenderhearted brothers, while Adam, when given the power, manifested a filthy string of perverse murders.
”Adam was quiet as he weighted the options. His face was strange and delicate in the sharp light of Gansey’s head beam. Swiftly, and without explanation, he reached out to touch the cavern wall. Although he was not a dream thing, he was now one of Cabeswater’s things, and it was hard not to see it in the way his fingers spidered across the wall and in the blackness of his eyes as they gazed at nothing.
Ronan – The Greywaren:
”Ronan was always saying that he never lied, but he wore a liar’s face.”
Another thing that’s become official with this book is the simple fact that Ronan and I must be twins!!! I swear, Ronan is so damn relatable and I just love him for it! XD Deep down within him he has such a tender and lovely heart and I know if he’d read this, he’d probably kill me for saying it out loud! *LOL* It’s still true, Ronan!!! DUH!! ;-P Well, anyway! I really enjoyed seeing that he finally opened up to his friends and there were so many beautiful and affectionate moments that my heart literally combusted whenever I read about him. I know some of my friends got slightly annoyed by the many Ronan updates *cough* Maks *cough* but I just couldn’t help it!!! XD I was really surprised when he took Adam to the Barns and actually admitted that Matthew is one of his dreams and it broke my heart to find out how lonely he truly is. “Lonesome.” it was the word that dominated Adam’s thoughts and I really hope that he won’t be alone anymore!!! <333
To sum it all up: RONAN IS PRECIOUS AF!! *lol* ;-P
The smile widened and sharpened yet more. “It’s not your problem, Gansey.”
He was so much more dangerous when he wasn’t angry. And he was right: Gansey didn’t want to know.
”As always, Adam was reminded of how Ronan belonged in this place. Something about the familiar way he stood as he searched for ripe fruit implied that he had done it many times before. It made it easy to understand that Ronan had grown up here and would grow old here. Easy to see how to exile him was to excise his soul.
Ronan scoffed. Him, fear for his own life. But there was something in his eyes, still. He studied his hands and admitted, “I’ve dreamt him a box of EpiPens. I dream cures for stings all the time. I carry one. I put them in the Pig. I have them all over Monmouth.”
Noah – The Ghost:
”Noah sat in the middle of the floor, papers all around him, a mint plant spilling dirt by his hand. He was all hunched over and shadowless, his form slight and streaky, barely visible at all. He was crying again.
In a very small voice, he told Blue, “You said I could use your energy.”
Noah Czerny is so adorable! That boy has such a wonderful character and it makes me so damn sad that he’s a ghost and dead! I love his cheerful and bouncy nature and I adore how tender and caring he is with the others! Unfortunately there is also a lot of anger and sadness in him and I’m not ashamed to admit that I actually sobbed when he had his breakdown at Monmouth. T_T I just want my baby to be happy, but I can’t see a future for him and it breaks my freaking heart to know that his story most certainly won’t have a happy ending! *weeps*
”Noah reappeared. He plucked four and a half oak leaves out of Blue’s spiky hair and blew some leaf crumbs from the bridge of Adam’s nose.”
Mr. Gray:
” ’A cowards’s heart is no prize, but the man of valor deserves a shining helmet.’ “
I love Mr. Gray!!! His conversations with Blue were so sweet and honest and I really liked how their relationship developed throughout the entire book! <3 Mr. Gray was the perfect father figure and I wonder what will happen in the last book! I mean Artemus finally returned so I guess this will cause quite some trouble between him and Maura. Uh oh! >_<
”In my experience,” the Gray Man said, “the badasses are the most scared. I just avoid being inappropriately frightened.”
The Greenmantle’s:
Afterward, Piper said, “If we had a puppy, it could pick up those beans for us.”
Greenmantle had replied, “And then we could sacrifice it and use its blood to activate the doll.”
“Will you marry me?” she asked.
Whilst I can’t deny that the Greenmantle’s were pretty entertaining I still want to use this space to point out that they were completely crazy!! *lol* I mean Mr. Gray threatened Piper and they were as cool as if they’d only talk about the weather! They were always so composed and nonchalant and this kind of made them creepy! XD I guess the word I’m searching for is “psychopath”! Yep, that’s it! They were both psychopaths! And truth be told, Piper might have even been the bigger one! *lol*
The friendships:
Ronan & Blue:
”Ronan looked at Blue, eyes narrowed. She didn’t look away.
This was a game she sometimes played with Ronan Lynch: Who would look away first?
It was always a draw.”
Aww! Those two! THOSE TWO! I loved how Ronan consoled Blue when she saw her mother in the lake and the fact he handed her the ghost light even though he knew that he would be alone and in the dark!!! OMG! I think this was one of the most precious moments of the entire book and my heart filled with so much warmth when I read it! <3 I really like that they are finally beginning to trust each other and I can’t wait to see more of their friendship!
”It was amazing that she and Ronan didn’t get along better, because they were different brands of the same impossible stuff.”
”For a moment they remained that way, Ronan holding her as tightly as he would hold his brother Matthew, his cheek on her shoulder.”
Gansey & Adam:
”His noble and oblivious and optimistic friend was slowly opening his eyes and seeing the world for what it was, and it was filthy, and violent, and profane, and unfair. Adam had always thought that was what he wanted – for Gansey to know. But now he wasn’t sure. Gansey wasn’t like anyone else, and suddenly Adam wasn’t sure that he really wanted him to be.”
I was so damn happy that Gansey and Adam actually managed to overcome their troubles! It was awesome to see that their friendship didn’t only survive their problems but also got even stronger than before! The moment when Gansey and Ronan showed up at court immediately caused me to grin like crazy and their gesture made me so happy I almost burst with joy! I loved that they supported him so much and I really don’t want those boys to ever argue again! I’m so glad that Adam finally realised that Gansey is only trying to be his friend!!! <333
”Adam couldn’t remember how they had managed to fight so continuously over the summer. Gansey, his best friend, his stupid and kind and marvelous best friend.”
”Now he could see that it wasn’t charity Gansey was offering. It was just truth. And something else: friendship of the unshakable kind. Friendship you could swear on. That could be busted nearly to breaking and come back stronger than before.”
Gansey & Noah:
”Don’t be afraid,” Noah said unexpectedly. Reaching out, he pulled Gansey’s hand away from his ear. Gansey hadn’t even realized that he was still touching it softly. Leaning forward, Noah blew his cool, corpse breath over Gansey’s ear. “Nothing there. You’re just tired.”
Gansey shivered a little.”
I absolutely adore the relationship of those two boys! They are both gentle souls that try their best to deal with their pain and they seem to understand each other in a way no one else does. Noah knows all of Gansey’s secrets, but he’d never judge him or tell the others. They trust each other completely and even though Noah is a ghost, Gansey always treats him like a normal person! <3 It’s obvious that Noah cares about Gansey and his tender gestures only seem to emphasise his feelings! XD
There was nothing inherently guilty about the moment except that Gansey burned with guilt and thrill and desire and the nebulous feeling of being truly known. It was on the inside of him, and the inside was all Noah ever really paid attention to.
The other boy wore a knowing expression.
”Don’t tell the others,” Gansey said.
“I’m dead,” Noah replied. “Not stupid.”
The ships:
Gansey & Blue:
”Casually, out of view of Ronan, making sure Adam was still sleeping, Gansey dangled his hand between the driver’s seat and the door. Palm up, fingers stretched back to Blue.”
Their desperate attempts to keep away from each other literally killed me and their nightly phone calls tugged at my heartstrings! There were so many sweet moments between those two but they both know that it can’t end well and it’s hurting them so much that they can’t even seem to be able to breathe whenever they are in each other’s company! JEEZ LOUISE!!! Their love is so bittersweet it’s tearing me apart!!! <3
It was so strange to see him without his Richard Campbell Gansey III guise on in public that Blue couldn’t stop staring at his face. No – it wasn’t his face. It was the way he stood, his shoulders shrugged, chin ducked, gaze from below uncertain eyebrows.
“SHE WAS ALL RIGHT,” Jesse assured him.
“My head knew that,” Gansey said. “But the rest of me didn’t.”
”And then we never speak of it again,” Gansey said, mocking himself softly, and Blue was so glad of it, because she had played the words from that night over and over in her mind and wanted to know he had, too.”
Ronan & Adam aka Ronam:
”Maybe I dreamt you,” he said.
“Thanks for the straight teeth, then,” Adam replied.
RONAN FREAKIN LYNCH COURTED ADAM PARRISH!!! <333 OMG!!! I will never get over this!! I mean Ronan dreamed him a lotion for his hands!! He placed a cassette in his car and named it: “PARRISH’S HONDAYOTA ALONE TIME“ AND it seems like he actually paid him nightly visits in his apartment!!! IN ADAM’S FREAKIN APARTMENT!!! ADFSJKLMNÖ!!! Oh my!!! I’m combusting! <333 There were so many awesome Ronam moments in this book and I can’t even explain how happy they made me! *lol* I loved how smug Ronan was about Adam being the magician and my heart melted when he tried to console him when Persephone died!!! Oh and when they blackmailed Greenmantle!? So, so perfect, so epic!!! They are such an awesome TEAM!!! <3 I CAN’T EVEN!!! *dies of excitement*
”As they moved through the old barn, Adam felt Ronan’s eyes glance off him and away, his disinterest practiced but incomplete. Adam wondered if anyone else noticed.”
He admitted, “Some.”
“A lot,” Ronan translated, and he was right, because, strangely enough, Ronan knew a great deal about how Adam worked.
”Adam and Ronan regarded each other, and then the pit. They looked winsome and brave, trusting of Cabeswater or of each other. They did not look afraid, so Blue was afraid for them.”
The conclusion :
Maggie Stiefvater is a poet and a genius!!! I can’t wait to read “The Raven King” and I don’t even dare to say it, but I think I loved this book even more than I loved “The Dream Thieves”! *lol* When it comes to Maggie’s “The Raven Cycle” books there actually seems to be no limit, they only get better and better! <3
Artist credit: Azeher @ DeviantArt: https://www.deviantart.com/azeher
Oh my!!! She did it once again!
Whenever I’m convinced that Maggie’s last book was already the peak of perfection she always manages to persuade me otherwise! I don’t really know how she does it, but she’s soo damn good at what she does that it’s almost impossible not to love her books!!! <3
Needless to say that it was exactly the same with “Blue Lily, Lily Blue”!! XD
This book was so marvellous!!
I loved “The Raven Boys”,
I adored “The Dream Thieves”
BUT I was a complete sucker for “Blue Lily, Lily Blue”!!!
If it wasn’t already official, it definitely is now! I’m Maggie Stiefvater trash through and through and I just can’t imagine a world without her books anymore!!! *lol*
They give me LIFE!!! They make me feel! And over those last three months they’ve actually become the air that I breathe!!
I’m IN LOVE with Maggie’s writing AND each and every single one of her Raven Boys! <333
Their struggles, their anger, their pain, their hopes, their fears, their dreams, their vulnerability!!! It all feels so damn real!!! GOSH!!! I can’t even!!! XD
With every single book they’ve become even more palpable and real! I feel so strongly for those four boys it’s like they are actual people, like they are some of my closest friends! =))
And for that I’ll always be grateful!!! Maggie you’re an amazing writer!!! I hope you know that!! ;-P
(Just in case no one ever bothered to tell you… Which I truly doubt, but still!! *lol*)
The characters:
”Blue was perfectly aware that it was possible to have a friendship that wasn’t all-encompassing, that wasn’t blinding, deafening, maddening, quickening. It was just that now that she’d had this kind, she didn’t want the other.”
This is the moment I make sure to warn you about upcoming spoilers and quotes! ;-) If you haven’t read the book already you better click that tiny “x” button! It’s sound advice, I swear! ;-P
Gansey – The Knight:
”The Camaro was like Gansey tonight: terrifying and thrilling, willing to do whatever she asked.”
I swear, this time around I almost couldn’t bear it to read Gansey’s POV!!! My heart is bleeding for this poor boy and the more I get to know him the more it hurts!!! He’s such a gentle, honourable and delicate soul! If I had to draw a comparison I’d say the Gansey in “Blue Lily, Lily Blue” was like a Chinese Ming Vase: So damn beautiful to look at but so fragile and ancient that you could literally see the fissures spreading in his armour! He is so broken on the inside and I think Blue’s conversation with Malory made that more than just clear. When he told her that Gansey didn’t just claw his face but also was completely traumatized after his incident with the hornets I actually felt a lump in my throat!! This chapter was so intense I almost forgot to breathe and even though it hurts me so much to watch Gansey, I still want to know how it all ends!!! Please Maggie, don’t let him die!!! >_<
”There was another pause, and Gansey realized she’d hung up. He leaned back against the fridge, eyes closed, guilty, comforted, wild, contained. In twenty-four hours, he’d be waiting for this again.
”Gansey didn’t so much visit as get absorbed.
He loved it. He wanted to be a part of this world, even though he understood there were endless reasons why he could never be. Blue was the natural result of a home like this: confident, strange, credulous, curious. And here he was: neurotic, rarified, the product of something else entirely.”
”It’s very decent of you,” he continued, “to not say anything about it to me. It’s more than I deserved. But know that I’ve regretted it, a lot.”
Blue – The Mirror:
”Maura was always telling her, Look at the potential you hold inside yourself!
Potential for other people, though. Not for Blue.
Since this book was rather Blue centred I finally had the feeling that I actually got to know her a little bit better! No matter what I did, I just couldn’t seem to be able to grasp her character in the first two books. But now that I read “Blue Lily, Lily Blue” it was so much easier to understand her motives and the reasons why she’s acting the way she does. I felt so sorry for her because she actually suffered a lot! >_< The situation with her missing mother, her relationship to the boys and her intense feelings for Gansey, the troubles of finding a good college and last but not least Persephone’s unexpected death!!! T_T It’s quite a lot to have on your plate when you’re as young as her and I think she was very brave and strong for keeping it together for so long! <3
”She was tired of Persephone and Calla and her mother withholding information because Blue wasn’t psychic. Of not being able to daydream of fancy colleges because she wasn’t rich. Of not being able to hold Gansey’s hand because they couldn’t hurt Adam’s feelings and not being able to kiss Gansey’s mouth because she didn’t want to kill him. She was tired of knowing that he was going to die and being afraid that her mother would, too.
Adam – The Magician:
”He knew he was different since aligning himself more tightly with the ley line this summer. He was himself, but more powerful. Himself, but less human.”
I think I am in love with Adam Parrish! Like seriously, completely and utterly in love!!! <333 This boy is soo damn freaking A.M.A.Z.I.N.G and the Ronan in me just can’t stop to love him!!! XD Adam has become everything I wished him to be!!! He’s so strong now and his powers are growing with each and every single day!!! And it’s not just his powers, it’s the person he’s becoming!! Yes, some of his actions might be considered to be on the dark side, but oh damn this only makes him even more intriguing!!! <333 His sharp mind constantly caused me to swoon and his thoughts… OH GOD, his philosophical thoughts were just epic!!! XD I loved that he was the only one who was smart enough to realise that Gansey is on the list and I was so happy that he finally managed to jump over his own shadow and accepted help!!! And the conversation with his father!??!! ARGH!!! It made me so damn angry!!! I hate and despise this man with a fierce passion and I really hope I will never read anything about him again!!! *growls*
”The students kept coming in. Adam kept watching. He was good at this part, the observing of others. It was himself that he couldn’t seem to study or understand. How he despised them, how he wanted to be them. How pointless to summer in Maine, how much he wanted to do it. How affected he found their speech, how he coveted their lazy monotones. He couldn’t tell how all of these things could be equally true.”
”What an impossible and miraculous and hideous thing this was. An ugly plan hatched by an ugly boy now dreamt into ugly life. From dream to reality. How appropriate it was that Ronan, left to his own devices, manifested beautiful cars and beautiful birds and tenderhearted brothers, while Adam, when given the power, manifested a filthy string of perverse murders.
”Adam was quiet as he weighted the options. His face was strange and delicate in the sharp light of Gansey’s head beam. Swiftly, and without explanation, he reached out to touch the cavern wall. Although he was not a dream thing, he was now one of Cabeswater’s things, and it was hard not to see it in the way his fingers spidered across the wall and in the blackness of his eyes as they gazed at nothing.
Ronan – The Greywaren:
”Ronan was always saying that he never lied, but he wore a liar’s face.”
Another thing that’s become official with this book is the simple fact that Ronan and I must be twins!!! I swear, Ronan is so damn relatable and I just love him for it! XD Deep down within him he has such a tender and lovely heart and I know if he’d read this, he’d probably kill me for saying it out loud! *LOL* It’s still true, Ronan!!! DUH!! ;-P Well, anyway! I really enjoyed seeing that he finally opened up to his friends and there were so many beautiful and affectionate moments that my heart literally combusted whenever I read about him. I know some of my friends got slightly annoyed by the many Ronan updates *cough* Maks *cough* but I just couldn’t help it!!! XD I was really surprised when he took Adam to the Barns and actually admitted that Matthew is one of his dreams and it broke my heart to find out how lonely he truly is. “Lonesome.” it was the word that dominated Adam’s thoughts and I really hope that he won’t be alone anymore!!! <333
To sum it all up: RONAN IS PRECIOUS AF!! *lol* ;-P
The smile widened and sharpened yet more. “It’s not your problem, Gansey.”
He was so much more dangerous when he wasn’t angry. And he was right: Gansey didn’t want to know.
”As always, Adam was reminded of how Ronan belonged in this place. Something about the familiar way he stood as he searched for ripe fruit implied that he had done it many times before. It made it easy to understand that Ronan had grown up here and would grow old here. Easy to see how to exile him was to excise his soul.
Ronan scoffed. Him, fear for his own life. But there was something in his eyes, still. He studied his hands and admitted, “I’ve dreamt him a box of EpiPens. I dream cures for stings all the time. I carry one. I put them in the Pig. I have them all over Monmouth.”
Noah – The Ghost:
”Noah sat in the middle of the floor, papers all around him, a mint plant spilling dirt by his hand. He was all hunched over and shadowless, his form slight and streaky, barely visible at all. He was crying again.
In a very small voice, he told Blue, “You said I could use your energy.”
Noah Czerny is so adorable! That boy has such a wonderful character and it makes me so damn sad that he’s a ghost and dead! I love his cheerful and bouncy nature and I adore how tender and caring he is with the others! Unfortunately there is also a lot of anger and sadness in him and I’m not ashamed to admit that I actually sobbed when he had his breakdown at Monmouth. T_T I just want my baby to be happy, but I can’t see a future for him and it breaks my freaking heart to know that his story most certainly won’t have a happy ending! *weeps*
”Noah reappeared. He plucked four and a half oak leaves out of Blue’s spiky hair and blew some leaf crumbs from the bridge of Adam’s nose.”
Mr. Gray:
” ’A cowards’s heart is no prize, but the man of valor deserves a shining helmet.’ “
I love Mr. Gray!!! His conversations with Blue were so sweet and honest and I really liked how their relationship developed throughout the entire book! <3 Mr. Gray was the perfect father figure and I wonder what will happen in the last book! I mean Artemus finally returned so I guess this will cause quite some trouble between him and Maura. Uh oh! >_<
”In my experience,” the Gray Man said, “the badasses are the most scared. I just avoid being inappropriately frightened.”
The Greenmantle’s:
Afterward, Piper said, “If we had a puppy, it could pick up those beans for us.”
Greenmantle had replied, “And then we could sacrifice it and use its blood to activate the doll.”
“Will you marry me?” she asked.
Whilst I can’t deny that the Greenmantle’s were pretty entertaining I still want to use this space to point out that they were completely crazy!! *lol* I mean Mr. Gray threatened Piper and they were as cool as if they’d only talk about the weather! They were always so composed and nonchalant and this kind of made them creepy! XD I guess the word I’m searching for is “psychopath”! Yep, that’s it! They were both psychopaths! And truth be told, Piper might have even been the bigger one! *lol*
The friendships:
Ronan & Blue:
”Ronan looked at Blue, eyes narrowed. She didn’t look away.
This was a game she sometimes played with Ronan Lynch: Who would look away first?
It was always a draw.”
Aww! Those two! THOSE TWO! I loved how Ronan consoled Blue when she saw her mother in the lake and the fact he handed her the ghost light even though he knew that he would be alone and in the dark!!! OMG! I think this was one of the most precious moments of the entire book and my heart filled with so much warmth when I read it! <3 I really like that they are finally beginning to trust each other and I can’t wait to see more of their friendship!
”It was amazing that she and Ronan didn’t get along better, because they were different brands of the same impossible stuff.”
”For a moment they remained that way, Ronan holding her as tightly as he would hold his brother Matthew, his cheek on her shoulder.”
Gansey & Adam:
”His noble and oblivious and optimistic friend was slowly opening his eyes and seeing the world for what it was, and it was filthy, and violent, and profane, and unfair. Adam had always thought that was what he wanted – for Gansey to know. But now he wasn’t sure. Gansey wasn’t like anyone else, and suddenly Adam wasn’t sure that he really wanted him to be.”
I was so damn happy that Gansey and Adam actually managed to overcome their troubles! It was awesome to see that their friendship didn’t only survive their problems but also got even stronger than before! The moment when Gansey and Ronan showed up at court immediately caused me to grin like crazy and their gesture made me so happy I almost burst with joy! I loved that they supported him so much and I really don’t want those boys to ever argue again! I’m so glad that Adam finally realised that Gansey is only trying to be his friend!!! <333
”Adam couldn’t remember how they had managed to fight so continuously over the summer. Gansey, his best friend, his stupid and kind and marvelous best friend.”
”Now he could see that it wasn’t charity Gansey was offering. It was just truth. And something else: friendship of the unshakable kind. Friendship you could swear on. That could be busted nearly to breaking and come back stronger than before.”
Gansey & Noah:
”Don’t be afraid,” Noah said unexpectedly. Reaching out, he pulled Gansey’s hand away from his ear. Gansey hadn’t even realized that he was still touching it softly. Leaning forward, Noah blew his cool, corpse breath over Gansey’s ear. “Nothing there. You’re just tired.”
Gansey shivered a little.”
I absolutely adore the relationship of those two boys! They are both gentle souls that try their best to deal with their pain and they seem to understand each other in a way no one else does. Noah knows all of Gansey’s secrets, but he’d never judge him or tell the others. They trust each other completely and even though Noah is a ghost, Gansey always treats him like a normal person! <3 It’s obvious that Noah cares about Gansey and his tender gestures only seem to emphasise his feelings! XD
There was nothing inherently guilty about the moment except that Gansey burned with guilt and thrill and desire and the nebulous feeling of being truly known. It was on the inside of him, and the inside was all Noah ever really paid attention to.
The other boy wore a knowing expression.
”Don’t tell the others,” Gansey said.
“I’m dead,” Noah replied. “Not stupid.”
The ships:
Gansey & Blue:
”Casually, out of view of Ronan, making sure Adam was still sleeping, Gansey dangled his hand between the driver’s seat and the door. Palm up, fingers stretched back to Blue.”
Their desperate attempts to keep away from each other literally killed me and their nightly phone calls tugged at my heartstrings! There were so many sweet moments between those two but they both know that it can’t end well and it’s hurting them so much that they can’t even seem to be able to breathe whenever they are in each other’s company! JEEZ LOUISE!!! Their love is so bittersweet it’s tearing me apart!!! <3
It was so strange to see him without his Richard Campbell Gansey III guise on in public that Blue couldn’t stop staring at his face. No – it wasn’t his face. It was the way he stood, his shoulders shrugged, chin ducked, gaze from below uncertain eyebrows.
“SHE WAS ALL RIGHT,” Jesse assured him.
“My head knew that,” Gansey said. “But the rest of me didn’t.”
”And then we never speak of it again,” Gansey said, mocking himself softly, and Blue was so glad of it, because she had played the words from that night over and over in her mind and wanted to know he had, too.”
Ronan & Adam aka Ronam:
”Maybe I dreamt you,” he said.
“Thanks for the straight teeth, then,” Adam replied.
RONAN FREAKIN LYNCH COURTED ADAM PARRISH!!! <333 OMG!!! I will never get over this!! I mean Ronan dreamed him a lotion for his hands!! He placed a cassette in his car and named it: “PARRISH’S HONDAYOTA ALONE TIME“ AND it seems like he actually paid him nightly visits in his apartment!!! IN ADAM’S FREAKIN APARTMENT!!! ADFSJKLMNÖ!!! Oh my!!! I’m combusting! <333 There were so many awesome Ronam moments in this book and I can’t even explain how happy they made me! *lol* I loved how smug Ronan was about Adam being the magician and my heart melted when he tried to console him when Persephone died!!! Oh and when they blackmailed Greenmantle!? So, so perfect, so epic!!! They are such an awesome TEAM!!! <3 I CAN’T EVEN!!! *dies of excitement*
”As they moved through the old barn, Adam felt Ronan’s eyes glance off him and away, his disinterest practiced but incomplete. Adam wondered if anyone else noticed.”
He admitted, “Some.”
“A lot,” Ronan translated, and he was right, because, strangely enough, Ronan knew a great deal about how Adam worked.
”Adam and Ronan regarded each other, and then the pit. They looked winsome and brave, trusting of Cabeswater or of each other. They did not look afraid, so Blue was afraid for them.”
The conclusion :
Maggie Stiefvater is a poet and a genius!!! I can’t wait to read “The Raven King” and I don’t even dare to say it, but I think I loved this book even more than I loved “The Dream Thieves”! *lol* When it comes to Maggie’s “The Raven Cycle” books there actually seems to be no limit, they only get better and better! <3
Artist credit: Azeher @ DeviantArt: https://www.deviantart.com/azeher
February 7, 2023
HOW DO YOU WRITE A REVIEW OF A BOOK THAT YOU LOVED SO MUCH IT MAKES YOUR HEART WARM AND IT RESTORED YOUR FAITH IN YA AND EVERYTHING IS GOOD IN THE WORLD WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT AND FLOWERS BLOOM AND BIRDS FLOAT AROUND YOUR HEAD AND SING OR TWEET OR WHATEVER IT IS THEY DO.
https://emmareadstoomuch.wordpress.co...
No, seriously, please tell me how. Because I straight up read this book a month ago and I GOT NOTHIN'.
I suppose I will begin with what I know to be true, and what I know to be true is that Richard Gansey III is my husband. I have said this now in three (3) consecutive reviews of each of the three (3) books in this series I have read, and yet it only grows to be more true. Because he only gets better. (What does it say about me that I'm now one hundred percent convinced I just jinxed myself and will hate him by the next book? In other words what is wrong with me. This is a cry for help.)
I love Gansey. It’s an all-consuming love. It’s above analysis, so I can’t even tell you why I do. But I do. And I’m claiming him. He is THE book boyfriend for me now. (Goodbye, Étienne St. Clair from Anna and the French Kiss. It’s been a good three years, but I’ve grown. I've matured. I’ve moved on. And also, you’re short, and that’s just never been a viable option for me.)
Me @ every boy of all time:
Excluding Gansey (because I could talk about my love for that elegant man-boy for pages I tell ya)...things tend a lot more toward the "eh" end of the spectrum. As in, Ronan is still incredibly blah. Who caaaaaares. We get it. You're edgy. You can stop now. Also, Adam, still sooooooo eh. But I willllll say...a certain relationship begins to blossom and bloom and beautifully pop up from the soil...and that shindig is not eh at all. (Insert the smolder emoji here.)
But, quelle surprise, nothing is perfect because nothing is ever good or easy, and there is a relationship that is so incredibly eh it's almost like it's too eh for the world eh. Like, they tried to put a picture of this relationship in the dictionary next to the word eh, but they were like one, this is a fictional couple so that's impossible, two, is the word eh even in the dictionary, and three, THIS IS TOO EH EVEN FOR THIS.
That's the dictionary people, angrily shouting NEXT, as in "next person proposing an image to be added next to a definition." I bet you didn't consider how much time dealing with those queries takes for the employees of dictionaries.
ANYWAY. That horribly boring and blah relationship is...sigh...Blue and Gansey. That pairing can die, really. Brutally. That budding duo can get run over by a steamroller and come out all Flat Stanley'd and non-viable on the other side. Also, to clarify, I mean the relationship itself can die. I would never endorse the murder of Gansey.
ANYWAY AGAIN. When did Blue/Gansey happen? One second they're just a pair of pals and the next second they are SMASHING their FACES together PRETENDING they're KISSING. Horrible! Gross! For so many reasons! On so many levels!
Also, I am not saying this due to any repressed jealousy. That would be insane. And while I may be at a level of insanity that I would call dibs on the hand in marriage of a fictional character, I am notyet at a level of insanity wherein I am jealous of the fictional beaux of that fictional character. That would be, in case anyone is wondering just when this whole thing will officially have gone too far, the moment when help should be contacted.
But back to the characters. I literally did not even finish that section. God help me. ANYWAY. Blue is pretty cool in this book, because she always is. Noah is still my small spooky son, and I love him and he should’ve been in this book more, but that’s just because he should be in everything. In order for me to attain true happiness I need to reach a point where Noah is popping up even in content not created by Maggie Stiefvater. He’s a goddamn prince and he deserves it.
The Gray Man sticks around for this book, which is a thrill because I love him. (I do not know why this is true, because his literal defining characteristic is that he is gray, but I love him anyway.) AND PLUS, NEW PEOPLE COME. AND GUESS WHAT? THEY'RE ALSO GREAT.
Piper is a queen. A literal queen, because I am crowning her queen of all villains. This is legitimate and legal in the eyes of the law, because I crowned myself ruler of all books.
Piper's husband what's his name is also pretty sick. Which is really surprising, because one, male villains are so boring, and two, Evil Teacher Guy has also been done. Like, within this very series. Two books ago.
Hahahahaha oh my god. Whoa. I almost forgot about that horrendous bore. What a snoozefest that guy was. The improvement to this series just by this book alone is WILD my friends. WILD.
But there are even more new people! These include:
- a woman who is cool (both the least spoilery AND least interesting way I could possibly put that)
- a guy named Jesse who is pretty cute and lovable
Maggie Stiefvater can really crank out characters I care about. (A feat matched by, guess what, literally no other authors. I am semi-incapable of even fictional love and affection.)
The setting remains sick, because it always has been. The magic is even amazing-er than ever. (How does it keep getting better?!)
This book is just...a more action-packed version of the other two. More of the stuff ya like, less of the same filler sh*t from the first two. You know. Less “Adam is poor and insecure about it, Blue eats yogurt and let’s talk more about the whole amplifier thing, Ronan is angsty, Gansey chews a mint leaf and plays with toys and has a journal and is somehow very rich throughout, Ronan is angsty, Noah is blurry and also, oh yeah, , and of course, Ronan, in case you forgot, is extraordinarily, next-level angsty.”
Seriously, that's a spot on encapsulation of the first two books. I am honestly proud of myself. You could definitely just skip the first two books and cut to what matters based on that paragraph alone. (Please don't do that.)
I'm quite pleased I didn't give The Raven Boys or The Dream Thieves five stars, because this sh*t is on a whole other level baby. They aren't even in the same REALM OF EXISTENCE. If those two are books this one straight up has to be called something else. We have to make up a new word based on how much better this one is than those garbage monsters.
Ugh! I am filled with love. And also excitement. And also immense fear and trepidation and regret because oh my god the next one just cannot be as good there is no way it's impossible life is just an endless feast of disappointment with countless courses of sadness casserole, which is also known as just "casserole."
Um.
Just realized I'm not going to ever ever read the last book.
Bottom line: WHATEVER LITERALLY JUST READ THE SERIES FOR THIS BOOK IT IS LIFE-CHANGING AND I KNOW I DID A BAD JOB OF EXPLAINING HOW GREAT IT IS BUT JUST TRUST ME, OK? I'm not used to five star reviews.
-------------------
PRE-REVIEW
my skin is clear. my bank account is full. my bookshelves aren't messy and my crops survived the winter.
ok well none of that is true BUT THIS BOOK CHANGED MY STUPID LIFE!!!!!!
review to come once i resurrect my laptop (even my keyboard died of shock at a five star rating)
-------------------
CURRENTLY-READING UPDATE
ho
ly
shit.
IS THIS GOING TO BE A FIVE STAR READ?????????
https://emmareadstoomuch.wordpress.co...
No, seriously, please tell me how. Because I straight up read this book a month ago and I GOT NOTHIN'.
I suppose I will begin with what I know to be true, and what I know to be true is that Richard Gansey III is my husband. I have said this now in three (3) consecutive reviews of each of the three (3) books in this series I have read, and yet it only grows to be more true. Because he only gets better. (What does it say about me that I'm now one hundred percent convinced I just jinxed myself and will hate him by the next book? In other words what is wrong with me. This is a cry for help.)
I love Gansey. It’s an all-consuming love. It’s above analysis, so I can’t even tell you why I do. But I do. And I’m claiming him. He is THE book boyfriend for me now. (Goodbye, Étienne St. Clair from Anna and the French Kiss. It’s been a good three years, but I’ve grown. I've matured. I’ve moved on. And also, you’re short, and that’s just never been a viable option for me.)
Me @ every boy of all time:
Excluding Gansey (because I could talk about my love for that elegant man-boy for pages I tell ya)...things tend a lot more toward the "eh" end of the spectrum. As in, Ronan is still incredibly blah. Who caaaaaares. We get it. You're edgy. You can stop now. Also, Adam, still sooooooo eh. But I willllll say...a certain relationship begins to blossom and bloom and beautifully pop up from the soil...and that shindig is not eh at all. (Insert the smolder emoji here.)
But, quelle surprise, nothing is perfect because nothing is ever good or easy, and there is a relationship that is so incredibly eh it's almost like it's too eh for the world eh. Like, they tried to put a picture of this relationship in the dictionary next to the word eh, but they were like one, this is a fictional couple so that's impossible, two, is the word eh even in the dictionary, and three, THIS IS TOO EH EVEN FOR THIS.
That's the dictionary people, angrily shouting NEXT, as in "next person proposing an image to be added next to a definition." I bet you didn't consider how much time dealing with those queries takes for the employees of dictionaries.
ANYWAY. That horribly boring and blah relationship is...sigh...Blue and Gansey. That pairing can die, really. Brutally. That budding duo can get run over by a steamroller and come out all Flat Stanley'd and non-viable on the other side. Also, to clarify, I mean the relationship itself can die. I would never endorse the murder of Gansey.
ANYWAY AGAIN. When did Blue/Gansey happen? One second they're just a pair of pals and the next second they are SMASHING their FACES together PRETENDING they're KISSING. Horrible! Gross! For so many reasons! On so many levels!
Also, I am not saying this due to any repressed jealousy. That would be insane. And while I may be at a level of insanity that I would call dibs on the hand in marriage of a fictional character, I am not
But back to the characters. I literally did not even finish that section. God help me. ANYWAY. Blue is pretty cool in this book, because she always is. Noah is still my small spooky son, and I love him and he should’ve been in this book more, but that’s just because he should be in everything. In order for me to attain true happiness I need to reach a point where Noah is popping up even in content not created by Maggie Stiefvater. He’s a goddamn prince and he deserves it.
The Gray Man sticks around for this book, which is a thrill because I love him. (I do not know why this is true, because his literal defining characteristic is that he is gray, but I love him anyway.) AND PLUS, NEW PEOPLE COME. AND GUESS WHAT? THEY'RE ALSO GREAT.
Piper is a queen. A literal queen, because I am crowning her queen of all villains. This is legitimate and legal in the eyes of the law, because I crowned myself ruler of all books.
Piper's husband what's his name is also pretty sick. Which is really surprising, because one, male villains are so boring, and two, Evil Teacher Guy has also been done. Like, within this very series. Two books ago.
Hahahahaha oh my god. Whoa. I almost forgot about that horrendous bore. What a snoozefest that guy was. The improvement to this series just by this book alone is WILD my friends. WILD.
But there are even more new people! These include:
- a woman who is cool (both the least spoilery AND least interesting way I could possibly put that)
- a guy named Jesse who is pretty cute and lovable
Maggie Stiefvater can really crank out characters I care about. (A feat matched by, guess what, literally no other authors. I am semi-incapable of even fictional love and affection.)
The setting remains sick, because it always has been. The magic is even amazing-er than ever. (How does it keep getting better?!)
This book is just...a more action-packed version of the other two. More of the stuff ya like, less of the same filler sh*t from the first two. You know. Less “Adam is poor and insecure about it, Blue eats yogurt and let’s talk more about the whole amplifier thing, Ronan is angsty, Gansey chews a mint leaf and plays with toys and has a journal and is somehow very rich throughout, Ronan is angsty, Noah is blurry and also, oh yeah, , and of course, Ronan, in case you forgot, is extraordinarily, next-level angsty.”
Seriously, that's a spot on encapsulation of the first two books. I am honestly proud of myself. You could definitely just skip the first two books and cut to what matters based on that paragraph alone. (Please don't do that.)
I'm quite pleased I didn't give The Raven Boys or The Dream Thieves five stars, because this sh*t is on a whole other level baby. They aren't even in the same REALM OF EXISTENCE. If those two are books this one straight up has to be called something else. We have to make up a new word based on how much better this one is than those garbage monsters.
Ugh! I am filled with love. And also excitement. And also immense fear and trepidation and regret because oh my god the next one just cannot be as good there is no way it's impossible life is just an endless feast of disappointment with countless courses of sadness casserole, which is also known as just "casserole."
Um.
Just realized I'm not going to ever ever read the last book.
Bottom line: WHATEVER LITERALLY JUST READ THE SERIES FOR THIS BOOK IT IS LIFE-CHANGING AND I KNOW I DID A BAD JOB OF EXPLAINING HOW GREAT IT IS BUT JUST TRUST ME, OK? I'm not used to five star reviews.
-------------------
PRE-REVIEW
my skin is clear. my bank account is full. my bookshelves aren't messy and my crops survived the winter.
ok well none of that is true BUT THIS BOOK CHANGED MY STUPID LIFE!!!!!!
review to come once i resurrect my laptop (even my keyboard died of shock at a five star rating)
-------------------
CURRENTLY-READING UPDATE
ho
ly
shit.
IS THIS GOING TO BE A FIVE STAR READ?????????
October 9, 2019
Can the whole series be about Persephone?
June 5, 2020
“Queens and kings
Kings and queens
Blue lily, lily blue
Crowns and birds
Swords and things
Blue lily, lily blue.”
This review contains *spoilers*.
And just like that, I'm finished.
Now what?
I’ve been reading this series back to back and it made me realize how much I’ve missed the joy (and sleep deprivation) marathoning books gives me.
I already knew how dreadful I would feel once I finished Blue Lily, Lily Blue because I’m in love with these books, but I guess I didn’t prepare myself enough because I CAN’T believe I have to wait till April to find out what happens next.
This series has affected me so much, I love love love the characters and the hilarious banter between all of them. They make me feel at home. And I already miss them.
I had no idea going into this world that I would be so addicted to the writing style and the perfectly build up sequences—yet here I am writing this review in the middle of night because I can’t stop thinking about everything that went down in this book.
This book is set shortly after the events of The Dream Thieves, Blue and the raven boys continue on with their quest to find Glendower, the Raven King.
Maura is still underground in hopes to find Artemus and other mysterious things.
And I really missed her in this story, I hadn’t realized what an impact she'd made on me.
“But Maura was not some people. She had begun to dream the future when she was fourteen. She had spoken to her first spirit when she was sixteen. She had used remote viewing to see the other side of the world when she was nineteen. Time and space were bathtubs that Maura splashed in.”
Blue terribly misses her mother, but she remains determined, strong, and compassionate. I loved her in this story.
“After an extraordinary summer full of chasing kings and disappearing mothers, it was hard to really, truly picture herself going to class every day. What would any of this matter in two years? Nobody here would remember her, or vice versa. She would only remember that this was the fall her mother vanished. This was the year of Glendower.”
Also, Blue and Gansey? I need more of them together.
“Gansey was not sleeping.
Because Blue had no cell phone, there was no way for him to break the rules and call her. Instead, he had begun to instead lie in his bed each night, eyes closed, hand resting on his phone, waiting to see if she was going to call him from the Phone/Sewing/Cat Room at her house.
Stop it, he told himself. Stop wanting it —
His phone buzzed.
He put it to his ear.
“You’re still not Congress, I see.”
He was wide-awake.”
Their night phone calls made me smile so much.
And their late night outings even more so.
“She turned to Gansey.
“Blue,” he warned, but his voice was chaotic. This close, his throat was scented with mint and wool sweater and vinyl car seat, and Gansey, just Gansey.
She said, “I just want to pretend. I want to pretend that I could.”
He breathed out.
What was a kiss without a kiss?”
So good and so heartbreaking.
“Everything jumbled against everything else in just a few chaotic moments. Fingers in hair, hands cupping necks, mouths dragged on cheeks and chins in dangerous proximity.
They stopped, noses mashed against each other in the strange way that closeness required. She could feel his breath in her mouth.
“Maybe it wouldn’t hurt if I kiss you,” he whispered. “Maybe it’s only if you kiss me.”
More of Gansay and Blue together, please. We got lovely little snippets of them together just so we could know how good it can be. But I really really really need more.
Someone should get kissed in this series.
Speaking of love, there wasn’t as much of Ronan as I would’ve liked but when he did show up—so good. I’m all starry-eyed.
“I want you to whistle or hum or sing, Ronan, and keep track of time,” Gansey said.
“You have got to be shitting me,” Ronan replied. “Me.”
Gansey peered down the tunnel. “I know you know a lot of songs all the way through, and can do them the same speed and length every time. Because you had to memorize all of those tunes for the Irish music competitions.”
My life will be made when I read more about Ronan’s music competitions. So cute.
And Ronan and Adam’s interactions were so much fun to read, especially when you know that Ronan secretly has feelings for him.
“Later, Adam walked out through the cool, damp night to his small, shitty car. As he sank into the driver’s seat, he found something already sitting on the seat.
He retrieved the object and held it up under the feeble interior cab light. It was a small white plastic container. Adam twisted off the lid. Inside was a colorless lotion that smelled of mist and moss. Replacing the lid with a frown, he turned the container over, looking for more identifying features. On the bottom, Ronan’s handwriting labeled it merely: manibus. For your hands.”
He’s so damn sweet and kind and marvelous.
“As they moved through the old barn, Adam felt Ronan’s eyes glance off him and away, his disinterest practiced but incomplete. Adam wondered if anyone else noticed. Part of him wished they did and immediately felt bad, because it was vanity, really: See, Adam Parrish is wantable, worthy of a crush, not just by anyone, someone like Ronan, who could want Gansey or anyone else and chose Adam for his hungry eyes.
Maybe he was wrong. He could be wrong.”
So Adam knows? And does he not feel the same?
I need answers.
“You can be just friends with people, you know,” Orla said. “I think it’s crazy how you’re in love with all those raven boys.”
Orla wasn’t wrong, of course. But what she didn’t realize about Blue and her boys was that they were all in love with one another. She was no less obsessed with them than they were with her, or one another, analyzing every conversation and gesture, drawing out every joke into a longer and longer running gag, spending each moment either with one another or thinking about when next they would be with one another. Blue was perfectly aware that it was possible to have a friendship that wasn’t all-encompassing, that wasn’t blinding, deafening, maddening, quickening. It was just that now that she’d had this kind, she didn’t want the other.”
I feel just as close to all the raven boys (especially Ronan).
Oh, and Robert Parrish visiting Adam was something I definitely wasn’t expecting, but when he showed up at Adam’s door- tears appeared so quickly in my eyes. I still haven’t forgotten that awful night at Adam’s old home.
“He did not want to get hit.
He would do what he needed to do to not get hit.”
Damn, I thought Adam wouldn’t break my heart in this book, but I was so wrong. I was really trying to hold in the tears when he arrived at the courthouse alone.
“Even if I lose, he thought weakly, he can’t have me back, so it won’t matter. It will only be this hour of humiliation and then it will be over.”
But I was so relieved when the bailiff told the judge that there were some witnesses for the case. I felt like a huge weight had been lifted off of me.
“The door cracked open. Adam didn’t want to look, but he did anyway.
In the hall stood Richard Campbell Gansey III in his school uniform and overcoat and scarf and gloves, looking like someone from another world. Behind him was Ronan Lynch, his damn tie knotted right for once and his shirt tucked in.
Humiliation and joy warred furiously inside Adam.
Gansey strode between the pews as Adam’s father stared at him. He went directly to the bench, straight up to the judge. Now that he stood directly beside Adam, not looking at him, Adam could see that he was a little out of breath. Ronan, behind him, was as well. They had run.
For him.”
And so much happened towards the end, I’m still trying to wrap my mind it.
Especially around the fact that Persephone died.
“We’ll get her back,” Adam said.
But Calla was already crying.
Blue, unconcerned with dignity, dragged Persephone out by her armpits. She was light and unresisting.
They would pull her back, just as Adam said.
Calla sank to her knees and covered her face.
“Stop it,” snapped Blue, voice cracking. “Get over here and help.”
She took Persephone’s hand. It was as cold as the cave walls.”
When Calla started crying, I knew something was terribly wrong.
Calla cries— I cry even harder.
“Look, I told Calla we were going into the cave. To find Maura.” He corrected, more formally, “Your mother.”
“Oh, seriously! Don’t Richard Gansey on me!” Blue snapped, and then, at once, she began to cry.
It was against the rules, but Gansey crouched down beside her, one of his knees against her back, one against her knees, and hugged her. She curled against him, hands balled up against his chest. He felt a hot tear slip into the dip of his collarbone. He closed his eyes against the sun through the window, burning hot in his sweater, foot falling asleep, elbow grinding into the metal bed frame, Blue Sargent pressed up against him, and he didn’t move.”
I love them.
Their journey into to the cave had me literally on the edge of my seat. I felt like I was holding my breath for those last few pages.
And when Ronan and Blue saw the lake, I really thought that Maura was gone. This book is seriously destroying me.
“It’s not real,” Ronan told her, voice low. “It’s not real, Blue.”
“I saw her,” Blue said, and she heard the sob in her voice. “My mother.”
He said, “I know. I saw my father.”
“But she was there —”
“My father’s dead in the ground. And Adam saw your mother farther on in this godforsaken cave. That lake is a lie.”
“For a moment they remained that way, Ronan holding her as tightly as he would hold his brother Matthew, his cheek on her shoulder. Every time she thought she could go on, she saw the face of her mother’s corpse again.
Finally, she pulled back, and Ronan stood up. He looked away, but not before she saw the tear he flicked from his chin.
“Fuck this,” he said again.”
I could not handle it when Ronan shed a tear. I love him so much and he doesn’t deserve so much pain. They don’t deserve so much pain.
I love them all so, so much and I could talk about them for hours (thanks Mom for listening).
I seriously cannot recommend this book enough. I didn’t so much visit this world as get absorbed. I loved it
There wasn't a single moment where I felt bored or lost interest. The story flows so easily.
It’s also really painful coming to realize that I won’t know what will happen until April. I can’t let go of the wonderful characters just yet, so I’ll probably read all the really cute scenes over and over.
Oh, and I finally found the incredible fanart that got me interested in The Raven Boys.
Adam Parrish 
Richard Campbell Gansey III
Source
I also loved listening to this song because my heart was definitely breaking while reading this book.
*Note: I'm an Amazon Affiliate. If you're interested in buying Blue Lily, Lily Blue, just click on the image below to go through my link. I'll make a small commission!*
This review and more can be found on my blog.
Kings and queens
Blue lily, lily blue
Crowns and birds
Swords and things
Blue lily, lily blue.”
This review contains *spoilers*.
And just like that, I'm finished.
Now what?
I’ve been reading this series back to back and it made me realize how much I’ve missed the joy (and sleep deprivation) marathoning books gives me.
I already knew how dreadful I would feel once I finished Blue Lily, Lily Blue because I’m in love with these books, but I guess I didn’t prepare myself enough because I CAN’T believe I have to wait till April to find out what happens next.
This series has affected me so much, I love love love the characters and the hilarious banter between all of them. They make me feel at home. And I already miss them.
I had no idea going into this world that I would be so addicted to the writing style and the perfectly build up sequences—yet here I am writing this review in the middle of night because I can’t stop thinking about everything that went down in this book.
This book is set shortly after the events of The Dream Thieves, Blue and the raven boys continue on with their quest to find Glendower, the Raven King.
Maura is still underground in hopes to find Artemus and other mysterious things.
And I really missed her in this story, I hadn’t realized what an impact she'd made on me.
“But Maura was not some people. She had begun to dream the future when she was fourteen. She had spoken to her first spirit when she was sixteen. She had used remote viewing to see the other side of the world when she was nineteen. Time and space were bathtubs that Maura splashed in.”
Blue terribly misses her mother, but she remains determined, strong, and compassionate. I loved her in this story.
“After an extraordinary summer full of chasing kings and disappearing mothers, it was hard to really, truly picture herself going to class every day. What would any of this matter in two years? Nobody here would remember her, or vice versa. She would only remember that this was the fall her mother vanished. This was the year of Glendower.”
Also, Blue and Gansey? I need more of them together.
“Gansey was not sleeping.
Because Blue had no cell phone, there was no way for him to break the rules and call her. Instead, he had begun to instead lie in his bed each night, eyes closed, hand resting on his phone, waiting to see if she was going to call him from the Phone/Sewing/Cat Room at her house.
Stop it, he told himself. Stop wanting it —
His phone buzzed.
He put it to his ear.
“You’re still not Congress, I see.”
He was wide-awake.”
Their night phone calls made me smile so much.
And their late night outings even more so.
“She turned to Gansey.
“Blue,” he warned, but his voice was chaotic. This close, his throat was scented with mint and wool sweater and vinyl car seat, and Gansey, just Gansey.
She said, “I just want to pretend. I want to pretend that I could.”
He breathed out.
What was a kiss without a kiss?”
So good and so heartbreaking.
“Everything jumbled against everything else in just a few chaotic moments. Fingers in hair, hands cupping necks, mouths dragged on cheeks and chins in dangerous proximity.
They stopped, noses mashed against each other in the strange way that closeness required. She could feel his breath in her mouth.
“Maybe it wouldn’t hurt if I kiss you,” he whispered. “Maybe it’s only if you kiss me.”
More of Gansay and Blue together, please. We got lovely little snippets of them together just so we could know how good it can be. But I really really really need more.
Someone should get kissed in this series.
Speaking of love, there wasn’t as much of Ronan as I would’ve liked but when he did show up—so good. I’m all starry-eyed.
“I want you to whistle or hum or sing, Ronan, and keep track of time,” Gansey said.
“You have got to be shitting me,” Ronan replied. “Me.”
Gansey peered down the tunnel. “I know you know a lot of songs all the way through, and can do them the same speed and length every time. Because you had to memorize all of those tunes for the Irish music competitions.”
My life will be made when I read more about Ronan’s music competitions. So cute.
And Ronan and Adam’s interactions were so much fun to read, especially when you know that Ronan secretly has feelings for him.
“Later, Adam walked out through the cool, damp night to his small, shitty car. As he sank into the driver’s seat, he found something already sitting on the seat.
He retrieved the object and held it up under the feeble interior cab light. It was a small white plastic container. Adam twisted off the lid. Inside was a colorless lotion that smelled of mist and moss. Replacing the lid with a frown, he turned the container over, looking for more identifying features. On the bottom, Ronan’s handwriting labeled it merely: manibus. For your hands.”
He’s so damn sweet and kind and marvelous.
“As they moved through the old barn, Adam felt Ronan’s eyes glance off him and away, his disinterest practiced but incomplete. Adam wondered if anyone else noticed. Part of him wished they did and immediately felt bad, because it was vanity, really: See, Adam Parrish is wantable, worthy of a crush, not just by anyone, someone like Ronan, who could want Gansey or anyone else and chose Adam for his hungry eyes.
Maybe he was wrong. He could be wrong.”
So Adam knows? And does he not feel the same?
I need answers.
“You can be just friends with people, you know,” Orla said. “I think it’s crazy how you’re in love with all those raven boys.”
Orla wasn’t wrong, of course. But what she didn’t realize about Blue and her boys was that they were all in love with one another. She was no less obsessed with them than they were with her, or one another, analyzing every conversation and gesture, drawing out every joke into a longer and longer running gag, spending each moment either with one another or thinking about when next they would be with one another. Blue was perfectly aware that it was possible to have a friendship that wasn’t all-encompassing, that wasn’t blinding, deafening, maddening, quickening. It was just that now that she’d had this kind, she didn’t want the other.”
I feel just as close to all the raven boys (especially Ronan).
Oh, and Robert Parrish visiting Adam was something I definitely wasn’t expecting, but when he showed up at Adam’s door- tears appeared so quickly in my eyes. I still haven’t forgotten that awful night at Adam’s old home.
“He did not want to get hit.
He would do what he needed to do to not get hit.”
Damn, I thought Adam wouldn’t break my heart in this book, but I was so wrong. I was really trying to hold in the tears when he arrived at the courthouse alone.
“Even if I lose, he thought weakly, he can’t have me back, so it won’t matter. It will only be this hour of humiliation and then it will be over.”
But I was so relieved when the bailiff told the judge that there were some witnesses for the case. I felt like a huge weight had been lifted off of me.
“The door cracked open. Adam didn’t want to look, but he did anyway.
In the hall stood Richard Campbell Gansey III in his school uniform and overcoat and scarf and gloves, looking like someone from another world. Behind him was Ronan Lynch, his damn tie knotted right for once and his shirt tucked in.
Humiliation and joy warred furiously inside Adam.
Gansey strode between the pews as Adam’s father stared at him. He went directly to the bench, straight up to the judge. Now that he stood directly beside Adam, not looking at him, Adam could see that he was a little out of breath. Ronan, behind him, was as well. They had run.
For him.”
And so much happened towards the end, I’m still trying to wrap my mind it.
Especially around the fact that Persephone died.
“We’ll get her back,” Adam said.
But Calla was already crying.
Blue, unconcerned with dignity, dragged Persephone out by her armpits. She was light and unresisting.
They would pull her back, just as Adam said.
Calla sank to her knees and covered her face.
“Stop it,” snapped Blue, voice cracking. “Get over here and help.”
She took Persephone’s hand. It was as cold as the cave walls.”
When Calla started crying, I knew something was terribly wrong.
Calla cries— I cry even harder.
“Look, I told Calla we were going into the cave. To find Maura.” He corrected, more formally, “Your mother.”
“Oh, seriously! Don’t Richard Gansey on me!” Blue snapped, and then, at once, she began to cry.
It was against the rules, but Gansey crouched down beside her, one of his knees against her back, one against her knees, and hugged her. She curled against him, hands balled up against his chest. He felt a hot tear slip into the dip of his collarbone. He closed his eyes against the sun through the window, burning hot in his sweater, foot falling asleep, elbow grinding into the metal bed frame, Blue Sargent pressed up against him, and he didn’t move.”
I love them.
Their journey into to the cave had me literally on the edge of my seat. I felt like I was holding my breath for those last few pages.
And when Ronan and Blue saw the lake, I really thought that Maura was gone. This book is seriously destroying me.
“It’s not real,” Ronan told her, voice low. “It’s not real, Blue.”
“I saw her,” Blue said, and she heard the sob in her voice. “My mother.”
He said, “I know. I saw my father.”
“But she was there —”
“My father’s dead in the ground. And Adam saw your mother farther on in this godforsaken cave. That lake is a lie.”
“For a moment they remained that way, Ronan holding her as tightly as he would hold his brother Matthew, his cheek on her shoulder. Every time she thought she could go on, she saw the face of her mother’s corpse again.
Finally, she pulled back, and Ronan stood up. He looked away, but not before she saw the tear he flicked from his chin.
“Fuck this,” he said again.”
I could not handle it when Ronan shed a tear. I love him so much and he doesn’t deserve so much pain. They don’t deserve so much pain.
I love them all so, so much and I could talk about them for hours (thanks Mom for listening).
I seriously cannot recommend this book enough. I didn’t so much visit this world as get absorbed. I loved it
There wasn't a single moment where I felt bored or lost interest. The story flows so easily.
It’s also really painful coming to realize that I won’t know what will happen until April. I can’t let go of the wonderful characters just yet, so I’ll probably read all the really cute scenes over and over.
Oh, and I finally found the incredible fanart that got me interested in The Raven Boys.
Adam Parrish Richard Campbell Gansey IIISource
I also loved listening to this song because my heart was definitely breaking while reading this book.
*Note: I'm an Amazon Affiliate. If you're interested in buying Blue Lily, Lily Blue, just click on the image below to go through my link. I'll make a small commission!*
This review and more can be found on my blog.
October 17, 2014
More heartbreaking kisses, please. Though I don't know if my heart can take it.
February 10, 2017
I know, I know. Please don't judge me, I'm sick.
But it's the sweetest kind of addiction. The one that doesn't let you sleep at nights because your thoughts wander into faraway lands and your heart beats fast for the people you came to love deeply even though they're the products of someone else's brilliant mind and beautiful soul. And I'm not alone, because I'll see you all in therapy, right? Right?
One missing mother.
Two arrivals that will endanger everyone in little Henrietta.
Three sleepers, one to wake up, one to not wake up, and one in between.
Four boys, a magician, a ghost, a dreamer, a king.
And a promise of death as the result of true love's kiss. In most fairytales, true love's kiss is the beginning. In this one, it's the end.
As the series progresses, as I fall deeper and deeper in love with the Raven boys and Blue and her crazy family, something cold and malevolent seizes my heart and steals my breath. It's fear. Life-sucking fear. Blue Lily, Lily Blue's atmosphere is heavy and ominous as time passes by, as Gansey's death seems more probable and Blue's love for him intensifies, as more and more people search for the Welsh king and the evil sleeper uses all his mighty force to make someone awaken him. While I dreamed under Henrietta's cloudy sky and heard the whispers of Cabeswater's ancient trees, I begged for a miracle. But I'm not sure I will get one.
How many powerful emotions are evoked by characters brilliantly flawed and damaged! I finally grew fond of Adam, and sympathized with his loneliness and was happy with the way his relationship with Ronan started to develop. Perhaps they'll find a kindred spirit in each other and share their grief, their anger, and trade them with something more invigorating, something brighter! But while their futute seems full of possibilities, Blue and Gansey follow a path that will result in heartbreak and tears. Probably mine.
And it's incurable.
Blue Lily, Lily Blue preludes an intense and all-consuming final book, so I will leave this mundane world for a while and dive into The Raven King exhilarated and terrified. Send a prayer my way.
But it's the sweetest kind of addiction. The one that doesn't let you sleep at nights because your thoughts wander into faraway lands and your heart beats fast for the people you came to love deeply even though they're the products of someone else's brilliant mind and beautiful soul. And I'm not alone, because I'll see you all in therapy, right? Right?
“Queens and kings
Kings and Queens
Blue lily, lily blue
Crowns and birds
Swords and things
Blue lily, lily blue”
One missing mother.
Two arrivals that will endanger everyone in little Henrietta.
Three sleepers, one to wake up, one to not wake up, and one in between.
Four boys, a magician, a ghost, a dreamer, a king.
And a promise of death as the result of true love's kiss. In most fairytales, true love's kiss is the beginning. In this one, it's the end.
“A lot of promises get broken, Blue.”
As the series progresses, as I fall deeper and deeper in love with the Raven boys and Blue and her crazy family, something cold and malevolent seizes my heart and steals my breath. It's fear. Life-sucking fear. Blue Lily, Lily Blue's atmosphere is heavy and ominous as time passes by, as Gansey's death seems more probable and Blue's love for him intensifies, as more and more people search for the Welsh king and the evil sleeper uses all his mighty force to make someone awaken him. While I dreamed under Henrietta's cloudy sky and heard the whispers of Cabeswater's ancient trees, I begged for a miracle. But I'm not sure I will get one.
“I was here. I exist. I’m alive, because I bleed.”
How many powerful emotions are evoked by characters brilliantly flawed and damaged! I finally grew fond of Adam, and sympathized with his loneliness and was happy with the way his relationship with Ronan started to develop. Perhaps they'll find a kindred spirit in each other and share their grief, their anger, and trade them with something more invigorating, something brighter! But while their futute seems full of possibilities, Blue and Gansey follow a path that will result in heartbreak and tears. Probably mine.
“Blue,” he warned, but his voice was chaotic. This close, his throat was scented with mint and wool sweater and vinyl car seat, and Gansey, just Gansey.
She said, “I just want to pretend. I want to pretend that I could.”
And it's incurable.
Blue Lily, Lily Blue preludes an intense and all-consuming final book, so I will leave this mundane world for a while and dive into The Raven King exhilarated and terrified. Send a prayer my way.
“The Raven King, make way for the Raven King.”
October 27, 2019
“Mornings like this one were made for memories.”
Isn't it the most obscure and abnormal concept that a book filled with random sequences of the alphabet put together to make some sense, can act as a catalyst to generate a chemistry lab full of emotions?
Essentially, you could have an infinite amount of books with the same character count as an airline flight safety manual, but those random string of words put together in just a handful of books can make you feel so intensely.
This is what The Raven Cycle does.
There should be a damn warning label on the cover that should inform your heart to proceed with caution.
_______________
Note: All rights belong to the different artists that have created the (fucking amazing) fanart attached to this review.
Another Note: This review is broken down with different aspects of tarot cards - linked to different aspects of the book.
The King
Kings are considered to be the most mature of the Court Cards. They have travelled through life successfully and are now at the pinnacle of experience and understanding. Thus, the Kings represent the fully developed personalities of each of the Suits.
Each and every character in this series, can have a way to cut your most vital organs up and still make you beg them to stick around because that's just how addictive they are. I'm talking even the villains, the supposed to be villains, the princesses (Ronan.. don't even try and fight me on this), the knights, the supernatural, the heroes, the kings...
You're going to read this and finish it and then envy anyone else that has the ability to experience these wondrous personalities for the first time again.
The Mirror
The High Priestess symbolizes intuition, psychic energy, the dream world, the unconscious, feelings, instincts and emotions. She senses what is going on below the surface. She is a receptive mirror.
I think what I loved was the fact that everything was practically a freakshow. I love that we were constantly surrounded by surreal aspects and dream things. It took away from reality but let us stay in a real world at the same time. So cheers, Stiefvater. You got me all kinds of fucked up.
300 Fox Way and it's residents will forever be a love of mine, and although the plot of the story (personally) is very character driven - we get so many 'paranormal' facets that makes the whole story fly off the pages.
The Magician
The first trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks. ... In divination it is considered by some to succeed The Fool card. He is the middle ground.
Although there were definitely some problems I came across (hence not enabling the five star rating) It was very easily covered up with the humor and banter in between the chaos of everything that was going on. We got the boys being boys, we saw how each of the gang is slowly growing up and on, we get to witness them falling in love etc. etc.
I loved the chemistry we got with Adam and Ronan in this edition, not to mention Blue and Gansey have been a ship from day one - so the progress with them makes my heart happy.
Ronan will always be my problematic fave.
Adam my chaotic neutral.
Gansey, my mother of four.
Blue - a hardass, badass, smartass cupcake.
And Noah... Noah can't be described because I love him so much.
I would also like to conclude by advising to always eat your greens. Do Jesse Dittley proud.
Isn't it the most obscure and abnormal concept that a book filled with random sequences of the alphabet put together to make some sense, can act as a catalyst to generate a chemistry lab full of emotions?
Essentially, you could have an infinite amount of books with the same character count as an airline flight safety manual, but those random string of words put together in just a handful of books can make you feel so intensely.
This is what The Raven Cycle does.
There should be a damn warning label on the cover that should inform your heart to proceed with caution.
_______________
Note: All rights belong to the different artists that have created the (fucking amazing) fanart attached to this review.
Another Note: This review is broken down with different aspects of tarot cards - linked to different aspects of the book.
The King
Kings are considered to be the most mature of the Court Cards. They have travelled through life successfully and are now at the pinnacle of experience and understanding. Thus, the Kings represent the fully developed personalities of each of the Suits.
Each and every character in this series, can have a way to cut your most vital organs up and still make you beg them to stick around because that's just how addictive they are. I'm talking even the villains, the supposed to be villains, the princesses (Ronan.. don't even try and fight me on this), the knights, the supernatural, the heroes, the kings...
You're going to read this and finish it and then envy anyone else that has the ability to experience these wondrous personalities for the first time again.
“Let’s leave her,” Ronan said. Gansey replied, “If we abandoned people in caves because they were crazy, you’d still be back in Cabeswater.”
The Mirror
The High Priestess symbolizes intuition, psychic energy, the dream world, the unconscious, feelings, instincts and emotions. She senses what is going on below the surface. She is a receptive mirror.
I think what I loved was the fact that everything was practically a freakshow. I love that we were constantly surrounded by surreal aspects and dream things. It took away from reality but let us stay in a real world at the same time. So cheers, Stiefvater. You got me all kinds of fucked up.
300 Fox Way and it's residents will forever be a love of mine, and although the plot of the story (personally) is very character driven - we get so many 'paranormal' facets that makes the whole story fly off the pages.
"Why does terror grow so much better away from the sun"
The Magician
The first trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks. ... In divination it is considered by some to succeed The Fool card. He is the middle ground.
Although there were definitely some problems I came across (hence not enabling the five star rating) It was very easily covered up with the humor and banter in between the chaos of everything that was going on. We got the boys being boys, we saw how each of the gang is slowly growing up and on, we get to witness them falling in love etc. etc.
I loved the chemistry we got with Adam and Ronan in this edition, not to mention Blue and Gansey have been a ship from day one - so the progress with them makes my heart happy.
Ronan will always be my problematic fave.
Adam my chaotic neutral.
Gansey, my mother of four.
Blue - a hardass, badass, smartass cupcake.
And Noah... Noah can't be described because I love him so much.
“We are going so slow," Noah said, craning his neck to observe the inevitable queue behind them. "I think I just saw a tricycle pass us.”
“I think it's crazy how you're in love with all those raven boys.”
I would also like to conclude by advising to always eat your greens. Do Jesse Dittley proud.
February 3, 2018
You might want to underestimate this 4 stars rating slightly.
The Raven Cycle continues to improve with each installment and this is literally the first time I ever gave a 4 star rating to a YA book as I’m not a fan of the genre. Blue Lily, Lily Blue (BLLB) will probably be an easy 5 stars read for those of you who have no qualm with the genre in general.
One of the problems I had with 'The Dream Thieves' was that I feel like that there’s a lack of satisfaction in the sense of plot progression to the main plot in exchange for full characterization. This problem is completely unfound here. After establishing the characters background, personality and relationships for the past two books, the plot can finally move on in a well-paced manner. The main characters are back in full focus on their hunt for Owen Glendower, the sleeping Welsh king and there are some captivating twists and turns with some tensions in the plot that were long needed for the series to be better and I enjoyed every moment of it.
Something you should know is that although I enjoyed the plot of the series, I do think the plot can be too complex for the audience it catered to. The plot is actually quite complex on the borderline between new adult and adult urban fantasy, it’s definitely not what the fandom led you to believe that this series will be all lovey-dovey romance series with all the shipping of the characters. Don’t believe me? Check out the reviews on GR, you’ll see a lot of 5 stars reviews that stated “I don’t even understand the plot” and yet still gave it 5 stars because their characters ‘shipping’ still sails. I’m not here to judge other ratings at all, people have different criteria on the books they read, my point is to tell you that there is a deep plot here for NA and even adult audience to enjoy. However, in the end, there’s no doubt that this series main strength still lies in the characterization and Maggie’s prose.
Remember what I said in my previous review that Ronan Lynch is one of the most well-written character in the entire YA genre? Well, that’s still true but you know what? There’s another addition here, Adam Parrish. I’ll be honest, I didn’t like Adam, his unnecessary angst and pride that never wanted to accept anyone’s help pissed me off. This is why he had the most potential for great character developments and Maggie completely delivered on this. Adam's character development in BLLB is one of the best strength of the book.
It’s not only Adam though, the buildup to everything that shaped the friendship between all the main characters since the first book took a fruition here. The friendship between Blue and The Raven Boys is the most realistic friendship I ever read in any YA books. They’re realistic, beautiful, and somehow, they remind me of the times I had with my friends in high school. (The supernatural aspect being only the infamous school ghosts stories though.)
At this point, you should know by now that Maggie’s prose is lyrical, easy and beautiful to read. I’m delighted to find that her prose improvement doesn’t stop there; it keeps on getting better with each installment. I truly believe that her prose is what truly makes this series works; she knows how to write characters realistically. Imo, what she did to this series as what Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern should’ve been (except that this series does have a plot unlike that black and white tent.)
The only minor con I had with the book is that Blue’s indecision and attitude in making up her mind can be infuriating to read sometimes. Don’t get me wrong, as I mentioned before, her thoughts and anger, as incoherent and illogical as they are is actually very realistic but at the same time, seeing her repeat them can be tiring.
BLLB is the best entry in the series so far and it has set up everything it needs for the conclusion. It has proven itself to me that there’s still a gem to be found in this desert of horrible overhyped series like 'Shade of Magic'. However, for me, it all comes down to the last book of the series on whether Maggie could deliver the conclusion the series deserves to see whether the series truly deserves the hype and praises it gets and I’m going to find out about it now.
This review is also featured on Booksprens where I'll be a guest reviewer for this series, check it out! :)
You can find the rest of my Adult Epic/High Fantasy & Sci-Fi reviews at BookNest
The Raven Cycle continues to improve with each installment and this is literally the first time I ever gave a 4 star rating to a YA book as I’m not a fan of the genre. Blue Lily, Lily Blue (BLLB) will probably be an easy 5 stars read for those of you who have no qualm with the genre in general.
One of the problems I had with 'The Dream Thieves' was that I feel like that there’s a lack of satisfaction in the sense of plot progression to the main plot in exchange for full characterization. This problem is completely unfound here. After establishing the characters background, personality and relationships for the past two books, the plot can finally move on in a well-paced manner. The main characters are back in full focus on their hunt for Owen Glendower, the sleeping Welsh king and there are some captivating twists and turns with some tensions in the plot that were long needed for the series to be better and I enjoyed every moment of it.
Something you should know is that although I enjoyed the plot of the series, I do think the plot can be too complex for the audience it catered to. The plot is actually quite complex on the borderline between new adult and adult urban fantasy, it’s definitely not what the fandom led you to believe that this series will be all lovey-dovey romance series with all the shipping of the characters. Don’t believe me? Check out the reviews on GR, you’ll see a lot of 5 stars reviews that stated “I don’t even understand the plot” and yet still gave it 5 stars because their characters ‘shipping’ still sails. I’m not here to judge other ratings at all, people have different criteria on the books they read, my point is to tell you that there is a deep plot here for NA and even adult audience to enjoy. However, in the end, there’s no doubt that this series main strength still lies in the characterization and Maggie’s prose.
Remember what I said in my previous review that Ronan Lynch is one of the most well-written character in the entire YA genre? Well, that’s still true but you know what? There’s another addition here, Adam Parrish. I’ll be honest, I didn’t like Adam, his unnecessary angst and pride that never wanted to accept anyone’s help pissed me off. This is why he had the most potential for great character developments and Maggie completely delivered on this. Adam's character development in BLLB is one of the best strength of the book.
It’s not only Adam though, the buildup to everything that shaped the friendship between all the main characters since the first book took a fruition here. The friendship between Blue and The Raven Boys is the most realistic friendship I ever read in any YA books. They’re realistic, beautiful, and somehow, they remind me of the times I had with my friends in high school. (The supernatural aspect being only the infamous school ghosts stories though.)
“Blue was perfectly aware that it was possible to have a friendship that wasn’t all-encompassing, that wasn’t blinding, deafening, maddening, quickening. It was just that now that she’d had this kind, she didn’t want the other.”
At this point, you should know by now that Maggie’s prose is lyrical, easy and beautiful to read. I’m delighted to find that her prose improvement doesn’t stop there; it keeps on getting better with each installment. I truly believe that her prose is what truly makes this series works; she knows how to write characters realistically. Imo, what she did to this series as what Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern should’ve been (except that this series does have a plot unlike that black and white tent.)
"Maybe it was good that the world forgot every lesson, every good and bad memory, every triumph and failure, all of it dying with each generation. Perhaps this cultural amnesia spared them all. Perhaps if they remembered everything, hope would die instead."
The only minor con I had with the book is that Blue’s indecision and attitude in making up her mind can be infuriating to read sometimes. Don’t get me wrong, as I mentioned before, her thoughts and anger, as incoherent and illogical as they are is actually very realistic but at the same time, seeing her repeat them can be tiring.
BLLB is the best entry in the series so far and it has set up everything it needs for the conclusion. It has proven itself to me that there’s still a gem to be found in this desert of horrible overhyped series like 'Shade of Magic'. However, for me, it all comes down to the last book of the series on whether Maggie could deliver the conclusion the series deserves to see whether the series truly deserves the hype and praises it gets and I’m going to find out about it now.
This review is also featured on Booksprens where I'll be a guest reviewer for this series, check it out! :)
You can find the rest of my Adult Epic/High Fantasy & Sci-Fi reviews at BookNest
March 4, 2019
Omaiga.
November 10, 2019
5 Stars
Overview: Re-Read
Umm... I don't have more to add except that I love this book and it's one of my all-time favorites? I appreciate so much more this time around and all of these characters are phenomenal.
Except Cheng, who exists here only to set his character up for the next book. And Maura, who continues to make bad decisions always.
Original Review
Here’s the thing with this series. The plot is… odd.
You open the first book expecting something about prep-school boys and maybe ghosts but then there’s magical trees and an expedition for a dead Welsh King.
(Or at least, I did.)
It’s definitely original and exciting—but it’s still odd. Somehow, despite how abstract and engrossing the plot points are, it doesn’t feel like the focus of the story. Instead, it’s the characters.
(Actual convo I had with my friend tonight. I think he’s starting to get it.)
The character development here was as nuanced as it was subtle. We’ve all heard about "showing vs telling and this book handles this masterfully.
At no point are we told “Character A is doing this because of X.” Instead, Steifvater understands her readers are smart enough to pick up on the character motivation if she shows it well. We’re given wonderful insights into the character’s heads, but we are never just told.
I don’t understand people who claim this book is a ‘filler.’ The sheer amount of development here was phenomenal.
Adam
- Arguably has the most development of anyone.
- Still my fav <3
- There such a focus on him finding balance. With Cabeswater. With his friends. With himself. AND IT'S GREAT.
- He becomes so aware of his own agency here and I’m just so proud because he DESERVES happiness okay?
Ronan
- Literally made me cry.
- Like he thinks and feels with this intensity and it was captivating. Before I knew it I was crying witnessing what he pulls out of his dreams.
- Jesus this boy is crushing haaaarrrrrddddd.
- (I ship it so much omfg)
- The image of Ronan curled up with that blue blanket at The Barns is so poignant and just beautifully done.
Blue
- So let’s talk about this firecracker for a second, shall we?
- She is 200%, absolutely, completely flawed.
- She overreacts. She’s rude. She can be insensitive without realizing it. Flaws.
- But she feels real.
- I don’t need perfect characters. None of the others are perfect either, and Blue shouldn’t be held to a higher standard.
- She’s still super frustrating, but well-written.
Gansey
- These freaking hornets.
- Gansey’s whole arc this book revolves around fear and how it factors into his identify and it was GREAT
- I’m so envious of his social skills, but also incredibly intimated.
- Still a larger-than life hero, but he’s aware of it?
- I actually love that he and Blue have their whole moral dilemma here. But I am 100% Team: No More Pain for Adam, but the whole plot really humanizes Gansey quite a bit. It’s fascinating to watch him struggle with something.
- That sexy handholding tho.
Others
- I don't understand any of Maura's decisions. Ever.
- Calla and Persphone were expanded upon so much more in this volume! They really became their own individuals, and it was very interesting to see how they functioned together and with Maura.
- Will Gwenlillian make more sense later? Because she was suppppeerr random here. What is the deal with the singing?
- Henry Cheng seems to exist here primarily to set him up for the next book, and I’m not sure what to think. He seems… scattered?
- This narrative is so… aware? I don’t have a better way to describe it. But it feels aware of so much. The fact that all these friendships are borderline-codependent isn’t glossed over. Self-proclaimed feminist Blue addresses characters who feel her ‘story’ didn’t start until she met the boys. It just feels acutely aware of the audience without being shaped by it?
Again. Same.
Overview: Re-Read
Umm... I don't have more to add except that I love this book and it's one of my all-time favorites? I appreciate so much more this time around and all of these characters are phenomenal.
Except Cheng, who exists here only to set his character up for the next book. And Maura, who continues to make bad decisions always.
Original Review
Here’s the thing with this series. The plot is… odd.
You open the first book expecting something about prep-school boys and maybe ghosts but then there’s magical trees and an expedition for a dead Welsh King.
(Or at least, I did.)
It’s definitely original and exciting—but it’s still odd. Somehow, despite how abstract and engrossing the plot points are, it doesn’t feel like the focus of the story. Instead, it’s the characters.
(Actual convo I had with my friend tonight. I think he’s starting to get it.)
The character development here was as nuanced as it was subtle. We’ve all heard about "showing vs telling and this book handles this masterfully.
At no point are we told “Character A is doing this because of X.” Instead, Steifvater understands her readers are smart enough to pick up on the character motivation if she shows it well. We’re given wonderful insights into the character’s heads, but we are never just told.
I don’t understand people who claim this book is a ‘filler.’ The sheer amount of development here was phenomenal.
Adam
”He left bloody fingerprints on the rock, but there was something satisfying about that. I was here. I exist. I’m alive, because I bleed.”
- Arguably has the most development of anyone.
- Still my fav <3
- There such a focus on him finding balance. With Cabeswater. With his friends. With himself. AND IT'S GREAT.
- He becomes so aware of his own agency here and I’m just so proud because he DESERVES happiness okay?
Ronan
“Adam was beginning to realize that he hadn't known Ronan at all. Or rather, he had known part of him and assumed it was all of him.”
- Literally made me cry.
- Like he thinks and feels with this intensity and it was captivating. Before I knew it I was crying witnessing what he pulls out of his dreams.
- Jesus this boy is crushing haaaarrrrrddddd.
- (I ship it so much omfg)
- The image of Ronan curled up with that blue blanket at The Barns is so poignant and just beautifully done.
Blue
“It was amazing that she and Ronan didn’t get along better, because they were different brands of the same impossible stuff.”
- So let’s talk about this firecracker for a second, shall we?
- She is 200%, absolutely, completely flawed.
- She overreacts. She’s rude. She can be insensitive without realizing it. Flaws.
- But she feels real.
- I don’t need perfect characters. None of the others are perfect either, and Blue shouldn’t be held to a higher standard.
- She’s still super frustrating, but well-written.
Gansey
““I don’t know what I’ll do if I find him, Noah. I don’t know what I’ll be if I’m not looking for him. I don’t know the first thing about how to be that person again.”
- These freaking hornets.
- Gansey’s whole arc this book revolves around fear and how it factors into his identify and it was GREAT
- I’m so envious of his social skills, but also incredibly intimated.
- Still a larger-than life hero, but he’s aware of it?
- I actually love that he and Blue have their whole moral dilemma here. But I am 100% Team: No More Pain for Adam, but the whole plot really humanizes Gansey quite a bit. It’s fascinating to watch him struggle with something.
- That sexy handholding tho.
Others
- I don't understand any of Maura's decisions. Ever.
- Calla and Persphone were expanded upon so much more in this volume! They really became their own individuals, and it was very interesting to see how they functioned together and with Maura.
- Will Gwenlillian make more sense later? Because she was suppppeerr random here. What is the deal with the singing?
- Henry Cheng seems to exist here primarily to set him up for the next book, and I’m not sure what to think. He seems… scattered?
- This narrative is so… aware? I don’t have a better way to describe it. But it feels aware of so much. The fact that all these friendships are borderline-codependent isn’t glossed over. Self-proclaimed feminist Blue addresses characters who feel her ‘story’ didn’t start until she met the boys. It just feels acutely aware of the audience without being shaped by it?
“I think it's crazy how you're in love with all those raven boys."
Again. Same.
December 1, 2014
If Gansey dies, I too, will die.
December 29, 2020
me when someone I know hates on Adam Parrish:
Okay, so this was a fantastic middle book. Blue Lily Lily Blue is a totally different beast than the Dream Thieves, but it's so good. Even thinking about this book makes me... so happy. I think what's funny about this series is I keep having problems with it but I'm okay with it - these books are as messy as life, as fucked up and emotionally charged and full of errors that won't ever be resolved. As I've said in my reviews for The Raven Boys, The Dream Thieves, Blue Lily, Lily Blue, and The Raven King, I love all of these characters so much, on a level of my soul that most fictional characters do not touch. Because these books are genuinely magic.
→why am I bitter?←
I will be very honest and say I think these books deserve praise for characters, not plot. The plot of Blue Lily, Lily Blue, specifically was... eh? What happened in this book? Because I'm genuinely not sure I know. And yeah, some of that is Maggie's trademark style. But there wasn't not much tension because I never knew what the fuck was happening. Confusing, magical-realism-esque plot is Maggie's trademark. Apparently. I will also say that Ronan never narrated chapters, and that really did sadden me, because he has such a distinct narrative style from Gansey and Adam and Blue! Sad.
Also, Blue and Gansey still aren't progressing as characters. Give them the character development they deserve.
→why am I in love?←
So first of all, adorable scenes with the #squad always get me going. I especially loved the courtroom scene. I want a friend group like the raven squad. Without the dead Welsh kings and excess testosterone, maybe.
In general, I think this book is one of the best in the series for all the relationships. There is so much fantastic relationship building in this book. Blue and Gansey's relationship makes me more emotional by the minute. I care about Gansey and Adam's vaguely gay friendship so much. I am physically hurt inside by Ronan and Blue being bros.
And I like to die!
Also, side note, I stand by every update I made about this book.
→why am I dead inside?←
Uh, um, so there’s a character in this book that - literally - has my personality. So I want to talk about that.
There’s this thing this character does, where he is one of the most Outwardly Stable members of his friend group, and he is also going through so much and probably hasn’t slept since 1920, and yet he still manages to come off as a very pragmatic rational person. most of the time. but his internal monologue around himself just fucking drips with emotional tiredness and, below that, this sense of self-loathing. he compartmentalizes his feelings and also lets himself break down. there’s a scene in the third book of this series where he’s interacting with someone in his life who hurt him, so much, and he responds to it by completely dissociating for a full chapter and it read like my inner monologue in that. exact. situation.
Oh, and he has my flaws. so that’s really fun! I love confessionals. he is… incredibly aware of his own flaws and yet completely unwilling to admit flaws, because he is so used to people turning around and throwing them right back in his face. that’s me. he is completely incapable of receiving gifts because he knows that at any moment, they can be thrown back in his face, with him as the ungrateful one. that’s me. and he worries, all the time, both subtly and unsubtly, that he is a danger to others, and he is on the verge of becoming his parents. his entire character arc is based around him realizing he isn’t. and that was so fucking painful and so fucking relatable and I don’t know how to handle it.
His constant self-awareness, his self destructive ambition, his confidence contrasting with his self-doubt. every chapter he narrates felt like someone had come into my home and stolen my obscure thought processes and I hate it and I am so. invested. in it.
I might lose my mind thinking about this. I love this series
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Okay, so this was a fantastic middle book. Blue Lily Lily Blue is a totally different beast than the Dream Thieves, but it's so good. Even thinking about this book makes me... so happy. I think what's funny about this series is I keep having problems with it but I'm okay with it - these books are as messy as life, as fucked up and emotionally charged and full of errors that won't ever be resolved. As I've said in my reviews for The Raven Boys, The Dream Thieves, Blue Lily, Lily Blue, and The Raven King, I love all of these characters so much, on a level of my soul that most fictional characters do not touch. Because these books are genuinely magic.
→why am I bitter?←
I will be very honest and say I think these books deserve praise for characters, not plot. The plot of Blue Lily, Lily Blue, specifically was... eh? What happened in this book? Because I'm genuinely not sure I know. And yeah, some of that is Maggie's trademark style. But there wasn't not much tension because I never knew what the fuck was happening. Confusing, magical-realism-esque plot is Maggie's trademark. Apparently. I will also say that Ronan never narrated chapters, and that really did sadden me, because he has such a distinct narrative style from Gansey and Adam and Blue! Sad.
Also, Blue and Gansey still aren't progressing as characters. Give them the character development they deserve.
→why am I in love?←
So first of all, adorable scenes with the #squad always get me going. I especially loved the courtroom scene. I want a friend group like the raven squad. Without the dead Welsh kings and excess testosterone, maybe.
In general, I think this book is one of the best in the series for all the relationships. There is so much fantastic relationship building in this book. Blue and Gansey's relationship makes me more emotional by the minute. I care about Gansey and Adam's vaguely gay friendship so much. I am physically hurt inside by Ronan and Blue being bros.
And I like to die!
Ronan knew Adam, but Adam wasn't sure he knew Ronan at all.
Also, side note, I stand by every update I made about this book.
→why am I dead inside?←
Uh, um, so there’s a character in this book that - literally - has my personality. So I want to talk about that.
Why did he care if Gansey and Ronan saw this?
They already knew. They knew everything about him. What a lie unknowable was. The only person who didn't know Adam was himself.
There’s this thing this character does, where he is one of the most Outwardly Stable members of his friend group, and he is also going through so much and probably hasn’t slept since 1920, and yet he still manages to come off as a very pragmatic rational person. most of the time. but his internal monologue around himself just fucking drips with emotional tiredness and, below that, this sense of self-loathing. he compartmentalizes his feelings and also lets himself break down. there’s a scene in the third book of this series where he’s interacting with someone in his life who hurt him, so much, and he responds to it by completely dissociating for a full chapter and it read like my inner monologue in that. exact. situation.
Oh, and he has my flaws. so that’s really fun! I love confessionals. he is… incredibly aware of his own flaws and yet completely unwilling to admit flaws, because he is so used to people turning around and throwing them right back in his face. that’s me. he is completely incapable of receiving gifts because he knows that at any moment, they can be thrown back in his face, with him as the ungrateful one. that’s me. and he worries, all the time, both subtly and unsubtly, that he is a danger to others, and he is on the verge of becoming his parents. his entire character arc is based around him realizing he isn’t. and that was so fucking painful and so fucking relatable and I don’t know how to handle it.
His constant self-awareness, his self destructive ambition, his confidence contrasting with his self-doubt. every chapter he narrates felt like someone had come into my home and stolen my obscure thought processes and I hate it and I am so. invested. in it.
I might lose my mind thinking about this. I love this series
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February 14, 2017
SPOILER FREE REVIEW: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DT3ya...
So glad my order of The Raven King came in today so I don't have to wait to finish the series!
So glad my order of The Raven King came in today so I don't have to wait to finish the series!
November 3, 2014
*finishes The Dream Thieves*
*deep breath*
*dying whale noises*
I NEED THIS BOOK NOW
I CAN'T BELIEVE I HAVE TO WAIT ANOTHER YEAR
THE FEELS
*deep breath*
*dying whale noises*
I NEED THIS BOOK NOW
I CAN'T BELIEVE I HAVE TO WAIT ANOTHER YEAR
THE FEELS
December 6, 2016
“There was something unfamiliar about him. Something ferocious about his eyes, some sort of bite in his faint smile. Something altogether hectic and unsettled. She stood on the ledge of his smile and looked over the edge.”
Even though I always feel like I don't understand a thing that is going on in those books, they are just beautiful. Maybe exactly because I don't understand a thing: They always surprise me, I never know what to expect next but I am never let down.
I think this third installment was the best so far. I love to see the friendships and more-than-friendships grow. I really hope that Ronan and Adam are going to be a thing! Though I still think that Ronan is an asshole, he just makes me angry...
And wow what this book made to my heart! I don't know what was stronger: my love for the characters or my fear they would die. Because Lord I was bloody scared! Worse than any horror movie. Imagination is a strong thing.
The books are not perfect but they have this incredible atmosphere of mystery and magic, danger and adventure that make me adore Maggie Stiefvater as an author.
Find more of my books on Instagram
Even though I always feel like I don't understand a thing that is going on in those books, they are just beautiful. Maybe exactly because I don't understand a thing: They always surprise me, I never know what to expect next but I am never let down.
I think this third installment was the best so far. I love to see the friendships and more-than-friendships grow. I really hope that Ronan and Adam are going to be a thing! Though I still think that Ronan is an asshole, he just makes me angry...
And wow what this book made to my heart! I don't know what was stronger: my love for the characters or my fear they would die. Because Lord I was bloody scared! Worse than any horror movie. Imagination is a strong thing.
The books are not perfect but they have this incredible atmosphere of mystery and magic, danger and adventure that make me adore Maggie Stiefvater as an author.
Find more of my books on Instagram
November 12, 2019
#1 The Raven Boys ★★★★★
#2 The Dream Thieves ★★★★★
#3 Blue Lily, Lily Blue ★★★★★
#4 The Raven King ★★★★★
#4.5 Opal ★★★★★
Blue was perfectly aware that it was possible to have a friendship that wasn’t all-encompassing, that wasn’t blinding, deafening, maddening, quickening. It was just that now that she’d had this kind, she didn’t want the other.
Where do I even begin? This review took me six weeks to write, and it's literally only because I loved it so much that I don't know how to describe it. I went through three sleeves of page tabs on this book, and if that doesn't tell you something... I swear, Maggie has created the single most lovable set of characters I have ever met in my entire life. They're all incredible in their own wholly unique way, and their story is just... perfection.
Spoilers for books 1 & 2 ahead. And, yes, I am going to gush through this entire review. This is your last warning.
"I'm glad you misdialed."
"Well. Easy mistake to make," she said. "Might do it again."
→ Blue Sargent ←
I have met so many people who wholly dislike Blue as a character, and I don't know if I'll ever live long enough to understand why. I adore her. She's smart, and brave, and angry, and sad, and flawed, and snarky, and more than anything, she loves with her entire being. Despite her odd upbringing and the way her life differs so greatly from that of most of the Aglionby boys, I feel that she would ultimately give anything to keep them and her family safe.
Ronan had not seen; Adam was still sleeping. The only casualty was his pulse.
→ Richard "Dick" Gansey, III ←
Where do I even start with Gansey? He's been my favorite Raven Boy from the beginning, and it remains the same; he is so well-intended, so caring and doting, so desperate for something more than the falsehoods and politics of his family. He puts his foot in his mouth constantly, but this book has the best examples so far of how much he loves his friends and the lengths he would happily go to for them, whether it's terror-filled drives in the countryside, looking for Blue, or going against Adam's wishes to protect him one more time from his father. Through it all, he just feels so human and genuine, and I swear I would read endless pages, filled with nothing more than Gansey's inner musings on his loved ones.
The only thing more pleasing than seeing Ronan singled out was seeing him singled out and forced to repeatedly sing an Irish jig. “Piss up a rope,” Ronan said. Gansey, unoffended, waited. Ronan shook his head, but then, with a wicked smile, he began to sing, “Squash one, squash two, s—”
→ Ronan Lynch ←
Regarding the last paragraph, if there is one character in this series who can rival my love for Gansey, it's Ronan Lynch. God, I love everything about his angry, moody, fierce little tattooed self. I love how incredibly torn he is between hating himself or hating the world. I love his quiet kindnesses for Adam, and the hints he uses to let his feelings shine through the rage. I love his dedication to Gansey. I love how alike he and Blue are, despite how much they might want to deny it. And I love his stupid squash one, squash two ridiculousness.
As they moved through the old barn, Adam felt Ronan’s eyes glance off him and away, his disinterest practiced but incomplete. Adam wondered if anyone else noticed. Part of him wished they did and immediately felt bad, because it was vanity, really:
'See, Adam Parrish is wantable, worthy of a crush, not just by anyone, someone like Ronan, who could want Gansey or anyone else and chose Adam for his hungry eyes.'
→ Adam Parrish ←
Oh, sweet, tortured little Adam. I loved him in The Raven Boys, yet found myself endless frustrated by him in The Dream Thieves. This book, though, brought him rushing back into my heart. I felt like I was seeing his true self again, and more than anything, I adored his moments with Ronan, in which he slowly came to realize and accept the feelings that Ronan was presenting him with through this little acts of generosity and emotional connection.
“We are going so slow,” Noah said, craning his neck to observe the inevitable queue behind them. “I think I just saw a tricycle pass us.”
→ Noah Czerny ←
Noah is, as always, precious, pitiable, and lovable all the same, but this book was the first time that he came across as what he is: a dead, mysterious, and slightly scary thing. I felt so sorry for him as he was subjected to the horrors of possession, and for the first time since midway through book 1, I found myself worried that we were going to lose him before the series ends. I love his friendship with Blue and how comforting his presence is for her, even without the physicality of it.
“I think it's crazy how you're in love with all those raven boys.”
→ relationships ←
I felt like I was going to literally experience spontaneous combustion during this book, because I am so ridiculously hooked on these two blooming romances, and how they contrast each other. On the one hand, you have Ronan and Adam, who have every opportunity in the world to be together, but don't know how to put their feelings into words; on the other hand, you have Gansey and Blue, baring their souls to each other in late night phone calls and car drives, desperately trying not to reach for the forbidden fruit. I don't know if my heart can take much more. ❤
Adam understood, then, that Gansey and Blue’s awe changed this place. Ronan and Adam may have seen this place as magical, but Gansey and Blue’s wonder made it holy.
→ plot twists & turns ←
Okay, I'm done gushing about the characters. Moving on to the plot, I thought this book has the most captivating story line of all three so far. It was incredibly suspenseful with Blue's missing mother, and there were some side character moments that broke my heart so much more thoroughly than I thought they ever could have, but anyone who found themselves frustrated with the focus on characters in previous installments would probably be delighted by the non-stop action and scheming in this one.
Mornings like this one were made for memories.
→ final thoughts ←
My final thoughts for this book are the same as they were for the last two: if you haven't read this series, you're missing out on an amazing experience. These characters are so wonderful, and the world of Henrietta and Cabeswater is a phenomenon that everyone should witness. I cannot recommend this series enough. It has so quickly become one of my all-time favorites, and I am only sad to know that it's almost over.
October 4, 2014
×××May contain minor spoilers×××
This book is nothing like I expected. This book was everything I wanted it to be. The book gave me chills, it broke my heart. It made me laugh, it made me mad. It made me crazy. It made me cry - not a lot, not as much as The Raven Boys or The Dream Thieves but little silent tears pooling up in my eyes.
This book, at parts, made me forget that Richard Campbell Gansey was going to die. Until something or the other would would violently remind me of that.
This book had more Gansey x Blue moments in it. They were powerful moments with so many emotions that where nothing happens but both their feelings are laid bare for our inspection. And they touched me.
And we have Adam. Poor, broken, stupid, proud Adam who promised himself to Cabeswater and is paying the due of his sacrifice. Adam who is in the middle of a lawsuit against his father. Adam who is doing school, after school jobs, realizing that Blue might not be for him after all, letting go of his stupidity a little at a time by realizing that letting Gansey be his friend is not necessarily being beholden to Gansey. Adam whom I hate a little less now. Adam who is the Magician of this quest for the sleeping king.
We see a different side of Adam and Ronan's friendship in this book in light of the knowledge of Ronan's crush. It's sweet how much they fight and how much they disagree and how much Adam has guessed and how much of his real feelings is Ronan ready to show. It's sweet and slow and adorable and even though I am not sure whether Ronan x Adam is going to be a thing yet, it's a beautiful friendship nonetheless. I totally ship them.
There is a lot happening in this book even if it is shorter than the other two. We have Maura who has run off to look for Butternut after leaving a cryptic note. We also have one not so new and one new character in Colin Greenmantle and his wife Piper who have come to Henrietta for reasons. We have Jesse Dittley - another someone whom Neeve saw and Blue wrote in the night when Blue had first seen Gansey. We have the mysterious cave and mysterious tombs and cryptic messages. And more sleepers.
But most of all this is a book about friendship between the five different people and how they all work so well together. They are closer to Glendower now than they ever were and closer to the climax and if all goes as foretold Gansey's death.I wish I did not know it was going to happen at all.
4.5 Stars
2015 is too faraway.
This ARC was provided to me by the publishers in exchange of an honest review.
"Queens and kings
Kings and queens
Blue lily, lily blue
Crowns and birds
Swords and things
Blue lily, lily blue"
This book is nothing like I expected. This book was everything I wanted it to be. The book gave me chills, it broke my heart. It made me laugh, it made me mad. It made me crazy. It made me cry - not a lot, not as much as The Raven Boys or The Dream Thieves but little silent tears pooling up in my eyes.
This book, at parts, made me forget that Richard Campbell Gansey was going to die. Until something or the other would would violently remind me of that.
"Blue", he warned, but his voice was chaotic. This close, his throat was scented with mint and wool sweater and vinyl car seat, and Gansey, just Gansey.
She said, "I just want to pretend. I want to pretend that I could."
He breathed out.
What was a kiss without a kiss?
This book had more Gansey x Blue moments in it. They were powerful moments with so many emotions that where nothing happens but both their feelings are laid bare for our inspection. And they touched me.
And we have Adam. Poor, broken, stupid, proud Adam who promised himself to Cabeswater and is paying the due of his sacrifice. Adam who is in the middle of a lawsuit against his father. Adam who is doing school, after school jobs, realizing that Blue might not be for him after all, letting go of his stupidity a little at a time by realizing that letting Gansey be his friend is not necessarily being beholden to Gansey. Adam whom I hate a little less now. Adam who is the Magician of this quest for the sleeping king.
We see a different side of Adam and Ronan's friendship in this book in light of the knowledge of Ronan's crush. It's sweet how much they fight and how much they disagree and how much Adam has guessed and how much of his real feelings is Ronan ready to show. It's sweet and slow and adorable and even though I am not sure whether Ronan x Adam is going to be a thing yet, it's a beautiful friendship nonetheless. I totally ship them.
There is a lot happening in this book even if it is shorter than the other two. We have Maura who has run off to look for Butternut after leaving a cryptic note. We also have one not so new and one new character in Colin Greenmantle and his wife Piper who have come to Henrietta for reasons. We have Jesse Dittley - another someone whom Neeve saw and Blue wrote in the night when Blue had first seen Gansey. We have the mysterious cave and mysterious tombs and cryptic messages. And more sleepers.
But most of all this is a book about friendship between the five different people and how they all work so well together. They are closer to Glendower now than they ever were and closer to the climax and if all goes as foretold Gansey's death.
4.5 Stars
2015 is too faraway.
This ARC was provided to me by the publishers in exchange of an honest review.
September 12, 2016
Hands down my favorite one in the series so far <3
May 29, 2018
im so, so sad to admit this but… i think im slowly losing interest in this series. this book wasnt bad by any means, but i think the novelty and uniqueness is just wearing off for me. i found myself not really invested in the search for glyndŵr, which is a shame because the plot finally advances in this book! and again, ive wanted more on blues curse since ‘the raven boys,’ but shes hardly a focal point - shes only around when the boys do something. im going to finish the series because its only one more book, so heres hoping its worth it!
3.5 stars
3.5 stars
February 15, 2021
▒ My ten favorite things about Blue Lily, Lily Blue ▒
"Ronan kept going, his voice louder. "No. Do you hear me, Cabeswater? You promised to keep me safe. Who are we to you? Nothing? If you let him die, that is not keeping me safe. Do you understand? If they die, I die, too."
➊ To the surprise of absolutely nobody, Ronan takes the first place hands down even without having any chapter from his point of view. Actually, after the intensity of The Dream Thieves, getting to observe him through other's eyes (who am I kidding : through Adam's) was so so so satisfying. I want more, though.
➋ Blue Lily, Lily Blue will be forever remembered as The Book Where I Finally Love Adam. Shocking, I know, given how much I wanted to slap his whiny ass in the previous books (sorry not sorry). First his evolution is freaking interesting on its own (who doesn't like a Magician with Slytherin-ish potential now tell me? Okaaaay, I might be *a little* subjective. Look at my profile! *waits patiently* Now you get it) and secondly I just can't ignore that 90% of his scenes are shared by The Boy Who Dreams Baby Ravens. Duh.
"With a savage smile, Ronan shoved the cart off the kerb and belted towards the BMW. As they picked up speed, Ronan called out a joyful and awful swear and then jumped on to the back of the cart himself. As they hurtled towards the BMW, Adam realised that Ronan, as usual, had no intention of stopping before something bad happened. He cupped a hand over his nose just as they glanced off the side of the BMW. The unseated cart wobbled once, twice, and then tipped catastrophically on to its side. It kept skidding, the boys skidding along with it.
The three of them came to a stop.
"Oh, God," Adam said, touching the road burn on his elbow. It wasn't that bad, really. "God, God. I can feel my teeth."
Ronan lay on his back a few feet away. A box of toothpaste rested on his chest and the cart kneeled beside him. He looked profoundly happy. "
➌ I'm gonna throw a PYNCH on there, because I'm redundant like that. Seriously, though. SE-RIOU-SLY. 80% of my favorite quotes are reformulations of something like... meanwhile, Ronan and Adam kept disappearing together.*Almost* every favorite scene stars them : the BARN. The CHURCH. The GROCERY STORE. Oh. My. Gosh. From the shortest looks and grips to the most adorable and heartbreaking interactions, these boys put my heart into overdrive.
#Can't Compute
#ISHIPIT.ISHIPIT.ISHIPIT.
"Light, or something like light, reflected off it onto Ronan's chin and cheeks, rendering him stark and handsome and terrifying and someone else. Then he blew on it. His breath passed through the word, the mirror, the unwritten line.
Adam heard a whisper in his ear. Something moved and stirred inside him. Ronan's eyelashes fluttered darkly.
What are we doing -"
➍ Granted, we can say what we want about these books, about the confusion of their plots and the true love bits and Mallory's dog (okay sorry dog, that wasn't called for), but the beauty of the relationships pictured will forever make them special for me. The loyalty despite the doubts, the trust - even if sometimes begrudgingly given at first - the support and the BANTER between Blue and her boys is EVERYTHING. Honestly? They're just all kinds of amazing and a little heartbreaking.
"Ronan's arms were still locked around her; she felt them quivering. She didn't know if it was from muscle strain or worry. He had not even hesitated before grabbing her.
I can't let myself forget that."
You better not is the only thing I will say.
"The door cracked open..."
You know what I mean, guys. The FEELS.
➎ ♪ SQUASH ONE, SQUASH TWO, S-♫
➏ Greenmantle and Piper. Erm- this is the moment I'm supposed to feel bad for loving the villains, right? But-but-b- they're funny! Who am I to resist them tell me?
➐ JESSE THE YELLER. BECAUSE HIS CURSE IS BADASS TOO. ALSO, I HAVE A SOFT SPOT FOR CHARACTERS WHO USE CAPS. BECAUSE OF REASONS.
➑ There's nothing better than late night calls, don't you think? (here's the moment 99% of my friends think, FUCKING FINALLY, ANNA! Oops)
➒ Calla and the Pretty One's argument. Or is it Richie Rich? I can never remember.
➓ It's official : there's nothing like a Raven Boys reread to make yourself feel a special kind of stupid; so many hidden details that came to light, I can't even. Really, though : how in the world did I miss so many things the first time? HOW? Was I high or something?
Oh, nope. Maggie Stiefvater's plot is just way more layered and complex than I first imagined. Or, I'm smarter now (somehow I doubt it) (it's been 2 years, not 2 decades)
Sigh. Now I wait.
For more of my reviews, please visit:
May 9, 2018
POINTLESS POINTLESS POINTLESS POINTLESS POINTLESS POINTLESS POINTLESS POINTLESS POINTLESS POINTLESS POINTLESS POINTLESS POINTLESS POINTLESS POINTLESS POINTLESS POINTLESS POINTLESS POINTLESS POINTLESS POINTLESS POINTLESS POINTLESS POINTLESS POINTLESS POINTLESS POINTLESS POINTLESS POINTLESS POINTLESS POINTLESS POINTLESS POINTLESS POINTLESS POINTLESS POINTLESS POINTLESS POINTLESS POINTLESS POINTLESS
THANK FUCK I'M DONE WITH THIS BOOK THANK THE LORD. Also my first 1 star of the year. I’ve been reading good books so far this year then this comes and ruins my streak. FUCK OFF. This book was totally and utterly pointless. I DON'T GET WHY IT EXISTS. I loved books 1 & 2, so what the hell?!!? CYA. And yes, I will be reading the last book because I own a copy.
20/03/2018: lmao the time has come for me to try this book again. I put it on hold December 2016 HA. I finally got a copy of The Raven King a few days ago, so all of a sudden I got excited again for this. 2018 IS THE YEAR I READ ALL BOOKS ON MY ON-HOLD SHELF. Pray I actually finish this this time.
14/12/2016: Buddy reading with Cait ♥ (what a failed BR that was lmao)
Okay so I am putting this on hold (hear that Cait and Amber? Not a DNF lol) for now. I'll be getting back to it some other day when I'm feeling it. It's been two days since I've started this and I've only read 30 pages. It was either going to put me in a slump or I wasn't going to enjoy it like I should. Besides, I'm thinking of other books to read at the moment.
THANK FUCK I'M DONE WITH THIS BOOK THANK THE LORD. Also my first 1 star of the year. I’ve been reading good books so far this year then this comes and ruins my streak. FUCK OFF. This book was totally and utterly pointless. I DON'T GET WHY IT EXISTS. I loved books 1 & 2, so what the hell?!!? CYA. And yes, I will be reading the last book because I own a copy.
20/03/2018: lmao the time has come for me to try this book again. I put it on hold December 2016 HA. I finally got a copy of The Raven King a few days ago, so all of a sudden I got excited again for this. 2018 IS THE YEAR I READ ALL BOOKS ON MY ON-HOLD SHELF. Pray I actually finish this this time.
14/12/2016: Buddy reading with Cait ♥ (what a failed BR that was lmao)
Okay so I am putting this on hold (hear that Cait and Amber? Not a DNF lol) for now. I'll be getting back to it some other day when I'm feeling it. It's been two days since I've started this and I've only read 30 pages. It was either going to put me in a slump or I wasn't going to enjoy it like I should. Besides, I'm thinking of other books to read at the moment.
April 30, 2017
"Queens and Kings
Kings and Queens
Blue lily, lily blue
Crowns and birds
Swords and things
Blue lily, lily blue"
I just bought about 16 books last week but they all can wait.
I'm going to re-read this baby first! You know why?
Because Ronan freaking Lynch, and Adam Parrish live in this. <3
“Behind him, he heard Ronan say,
"I like the way you losers thought Instagram before first aid.
Fuck off.”
I love this quote! It's just so... Ronan!
Ronan:“I know when I'm awake and when I'm asleep,"
Adam:"Do you?"
Ronan:" Maybe I dreamt you."
Adam: "Thanks for the straight teeth, then,"
No fictional character should have this kind of power over anyone! This was a perfect book to get over ToG series. Adam Parrish and Ronan Lynch are my new obsession! Ronan keeps joking he dreamt Adam i really hope it's not true, not that it matters. I loved them individually in previous books but together they are incomparable. Nothing is conformed or official yet... but then that is the beauty of their relationship, it's nobody else's business but theirs.
“Ronan Lynch lived with every sort of secret."
“Ronan was angry,
every one of his emotions that wasn't happiness
was anger.”
“Ronan's second secret was Adam Parrish.”
“Sometimes Ronan thought
Adam was so used to the right way being painful
that he doubted any path that didn’t come with agony.”
“Adam felt Ronan’s eyes glance off him and away.
Adam wondered if anyone else noticed.
Part of him wished they did and immediately felt bad,
because it was vanity, really:
See, Adam Parrish is wantable,
worthy of a crush,
not just by anyone,
someone like Ronan,
who could want Gansey
or anyone else and chose Adam for his hungry eyes.”
November 7, 2019
Reread update 11/7/19:
This reread solidified that not only is BLLB my favorite book in the series, this is my favorite book of all time. Ever. Ever written. Trying to talk about this book in my reread vlog literally almost made me start crying. YIKES I love it.
Updated review 10/14/17:
I was curious if rereading this series would change my favorite book, but it definitely didn't. I knew from the first couple of chapters that this one just stands out from the rest for me. Maybe it is because it has the absolute best side characters of the entire series, or because there is moderately less angst than in books 2 or 4, but something about this one speaks to me.
I do also think it has to do with the fact that some of my absolute FAVORITE character development happens in this installment. The first time I read this series, this is the first book that made me cry. It is emotional, and you really dig below the surface of every single character and I think that's impressive, considering this is the shortest book of the series. Anyway, I cried again when I read this. I adore it with my whole heart.
This reread solidified that not only is BLLB my favorite book in the series, this is my favorite book of all time. Ever. Ever written. Trying to talk about this book in my reread vlog literally almost made me start crying. YIKES I love it.
Updated review 10/14/17:
I was curious if rereading this series would change my favorite book, but it definitely didn't. I knew from the first couple of chapters that this one just stands out from the rest for me. Maybe it is because it has the absolute best side characters of the entire series, or because there is moderately less angst than in books 2 or 4, but something about this one speaks to me.
I do also think it has to do with the fact that some of my absolute FAVORITE character development happens in this installment. The first time I read this series, this is the first book that made me cry. It is emotional, and you really dig below the surface of every single character and I think that's impressive, considering this is the shortest book of the series. Anyway, I cried again when I read this. I adore it with my whole heart.
March 27, 2017
Blue Lily, Lily Blue (RC 03), by Maggie Stiefvater: 5 “Barrel of Monkeys” Stars.
“ ‘What’s that slowly phrase?’ Noah asked. ‘Slowly, slowly …’
‘… catchy monkey,’ Gansey finished.”
~ Noah Czerny & Richard Gansey III.
According to the Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs, the phrase Noah refers to is actually: Softly, softly, catchee monkey. Basically, it means that in very tricky situations – like catching monkeys – prudence, preparation, and patience are more effective than impulsiveness, irrationality, and impetuosity. In other words, the characters in Maggie Stiefvater’s Raven Cycle series better stock up on smarts and endurance because all of them have a shit-ton of monkeys to catchee.
“I think I miss this part. The beginning. This is the beginning, right? Oh, wait, no, it’s the other one. I forgot. I actually hate this part.” ~ Noah Czerny.
If The Dream Thieves (Raven Cycle 02) is about secrets and fears, then Blue Lily, Lily Blue is about endings and beginnings. Before new things can begin, old things must end. Which means: Blue and her psychics must catch Maura. Maura must catch Blue’s father. Ronan and Mr. Grey must catch a very bad man, before a very bad man catches them. And Adam must catch himself. Then, everyone must help Gansey catch Glendower because no one wants Gansey to die.
“All I’d like to know is if there is any way to get here from what I’m doing now.” ~ Blue Sargent.
While catching specific monkeys will no doubt be hella hard, catching general monkeys will be darn near impossible. Generally speaking, there are some mega ginormous general monkeys in Henrietta and they all want to teach our brave, little group some mega ginormous lessons about life and adulthood (in general), and themselves (in particular).
And, therein lies another main theme of, The Raven Cycle series. Because:
TRUTH: There’s always a way to get where you want to go. TRUTH: Getting there will be difficult. TRUTH: If you want to get there bad enough, you’ll find a way. TRUTH: It’s easier if you remember to Softly, softly catchee monkey, because if you take the wrong path, you can always turn around, but it'll take a hell of a lot longer to get where you want to go.
“Well, this looks like a barrel of monkeys, pun intended!” ~ Ms. Shiftlet (Blue’s Guidance Councilor).
Indeed it does, Ms. Shiftlet! Indeed it does!
In fact, the whole Raven Cycle series not only looks like a barrel of monkeys, it is a barrel of monkeys, pun intended! But hey! I’ve got one book left to read, so I better quit monkeying around and get to it.
Blue Lily, Lily Blue (Raven Cycle 03), by Maggie Stiefvater: 5 “Barrel of Monkeys” Stars.
LINKS TO REVIEWS OF BOOKS 1-2 & 4:
The Raven Boys (RC #1): Click Me Baby!
The Dream Thieves (RC #2): And Again!
The Raven King (RC #4): One More Time!
“ ‘What’s that slowly phrase?’ Noah asked. ‘Slowly, slowly …’
‘… catchy monkey,’ Gansey finished.”
~ Noah Czerny & Richard Gansey III.
According to the Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs, the phrase Noah refers to is actually: Softly, softly, catchee monkey. Basically, it means that in very tricky situations – like catching monkeys – prudence, preparation, and patience are more effective than impulsiveness, irrationality, and impetuosity. In other words, the characters in Maggie Stiefvater’s Raven Cycle series better stock up on smarts and endurance because all of them have a shit-ton of monkeys to catchee.
“I think I miss this part. The beginning. This is the beginning, right? Oh, wait, no, it’s the other one. I forgot. I actually hate this part.” ~ Noah Czerny.
If The Dream Thieves (Raven Cycle 02) is about secrets and fears, then Blue Lily, Lily Blue is about endings and beginnings. Before new things can begin, old things must end. Which means: Blue and her psychics must catch Maura. Maura must catch Blue’s father. Ronan and Mr. Grey must catch a very bad man, before a very bad man catches them. And Adam must catch himself. Then, everyone must help Gansey catch Glendower because no one wants Gansey to die.
“All I’d like to know is if there is any way to get here from what I’m doing now.” ~ Blue Sargent.
While catching specific monkeys will no doubt be hella hard, catching general monkeys will be darn near impossible. Generally speaking, there are some mega ginormous general monkeys in Henrietta and they all want to teach our brave, little group some mega ginormous lessons about life and adulthood (in general), and themselves (in particular).
And, therein lies another main theme of, The Raven Cycle series. Because:
TRUTH: There’s always a way to get where you want to go. TRUTH: Getting there will be difficult. TRUTH: If you want to get there bad enough, you’ll find a way. TRUTH: It’s easier if you remember to Softly, softly catchee monkey, because if you take the wrong path, you can always turn around, but it'll take a hell of a lot longer to get where you want to go.
“Well, this looks like a barrel of monkeys, pun intended!” ~ Ms. Shiftlet (Blue’s Guidance Councilor).
Indeed it does, Ms. Shiftlet! Indeed it does!
In fact, the whole Raven Cycle series not only looks like a barrel of monkeys, it is a barrel of monkeys, pun intended! But hey! I’ve got one book left to read, so I better quit monkeying around and get to it.
Blue Lily, Lily Blue (Raven Cycle 03), by Maggie Stiefvater: 5 “Barrel of Monkeys” Stars.
LINKS TO REVIEWS OF BOOKS 1-2 & 4:
The Raven Boys (RC #1): Click Me Baby!
The Dream Thieves (RC #2): And Again!
The Raven King (RC #4): One More Time!
May 16, 2018
1.) The Raven Boys ★★★★★
2.) The Dream Thieves ★★★★★
This book is the physical manifestation of perfection.
This is a once in a lifetime series.
This book's magic fills all my dark places with light.
This series reminded me why I fell in love with reading.
This series is the best thing I've read since Harry Potter and The Name of the Wind.
It's always hard for me to write reviews for books that become my favorites. Hopefully those above five lines will help, or maybe they won't. Either way, no amount of words I have can do justice for this masterpiece. You, yourself, should just give this series a chance and see if it puts you under the spell it has placed upon me.
“Humans were so circular; they lived the same slow cycles of joy and misery over and over, never learning. Every lesson in the universe had to be taught billions of times, and it never stuck.
Maybe it was good that the world forgot every lesson, every good and bad memory, every triumph and failure, all of it dying with each generation. Perhaps this cultural amnesia spared them all. Perhaps if they remembered everything, hope would die instead.”
This book really explores a lot of different individualities, and I can't praise Maggie Stiefvater enough. These are the kind of books that YA needs; different stories that are unique, while the characters are different races, different sexualities, with different family dynamics. This book even portrays feminism beautifully, because at this point Blue is my spirit animal.
“Everything jumbled against everything else in just a few chaotic moments.
Fingers in hair, hands cupping necks, mouths dragged on cheeks and chins in dangerous proximity.
They stopped, noses mashed against each other in the strange way that closeness required.
She could feel his breath in her mouth.”
Blue and Gansey's relationship guts me with every line. Blue's pain resonates with me, and just rips my heart out over and over again. Luckily, I have masochistic tendencies and ask for more.
I know I've been gushing about diversity and romance, but this book also has a lot of plot to its story. Blue's mom, Maura, is missing and Blue, Mr.Grey, and everyone else, is in a desperate search to get her back.
Adam and Ronan get more in touch with Cabeswater and start discovering not themselves but each other. *swoons forever*
This book also reintroduces a somewhat new villain, Colin Greenmantle, and his wife Piper. Only this new character will make a much unexpected twist that you won't see coming.
The gang finds another cave entrance, but finds someone much different than their sleeping Welsh King.
The anticipation for The Raven King is going to kill me. I keep thinking about and rereading the first chapter of The Raven Boys and I find myself being haunted knowing that I'm going to reread that scene next month in a very different perspective. I don't think there is anything I can do to physically or emotional prepare myself, and mostly my heart, for reading the The Raven King. I'm just going to relish in the heartbreak, while trying to remember that I will forever love this series.
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June 16, 2016
“Blue,” he warned, but his voice was chaotic. This close, his throat was scented with mint and wool sweater and vinyl car seat, and Gansey, just Gansey.
She said, “I just want to pretend. I want to pretend that I could.”
This is my favorite so far, I'm in love!
“Queens and kings, Kings and queens. Blue lily, lily blue, Crowns and birds. Swords and things, Blue lily, lily blue”
I feel like a lot of things right now, I just finished the book and making a mental review of what has been, I can say that I can't be happier and in accordance with it!
Warning Warning! : So many good lines in this book, I can become something hysterical with them in this review, to abstain!
“You can be just friends with people, you know," Orla said. "I think it's crazy how you're in love with all those raven boys."
Orla wasn't wrong, of course. But what she didn't realize about Blue and her boys was that they were all in love with one another. She was no less obsessed with them than they were with her, or one another, analyzing every conversation and gesture, drawing out every joke into a longer and longer running gag, spending each moment either with one another or thinking about when next they would be with one another. Blue was perfectly aware that it was possible to have a friendship that wasn't all-encompassing, that wasn't blinding, deafening, maddening, quickening. It was just that now that she'd had this kind, she didn't want the other.”
Speaking of the book in general was very interesting, with a lot of mystery, as always, and especially full of love, friendship and revelations!
I liked the addition of new characters, especially a special mention for Jessie Dentley, who seemed to me the best !, is a character for which I am very fond of and the dialogue with Blue were the best! :)
“It kills Dittleys and does terrible things to my friend."
"YOUR DEAD FRIEND."
"That's not his fault. Why didn't you say you could see him?"
"I DIDN'T SAY I COULD SEE YOU, EITHER."
"But I'm not dead."
"BUT YOU ARE PRETTY SHORT.”
I can't stand it, I have to talk about my loversBlue and Gansey! , This relationship is growing so much that drive me crazy, I found the sweetest moments , their dialogues leave me pining, every time I finished reading a chapter about them and their relationship I needed to read another immediately ... I really hope to see more and more of this in the end, I have both expectant and nervous about what will to happen, so we'll see.
“Don't tell the others," Gansey said.
"I'm dead," Noah replied, "not stupid.”
PS: One of the things I love most about this relationship is that it manages to catch you and fall in love without being cloying at all, is in the perfect dose and that is merit of Maggie's incredible script ! .
And I can't not overemphasize the relationship in this book between Ronan and Adam, I'm surprised about this, but they catch me with its mysterious and private moments, die of love !. At first I confess that took me by surprise and I was like WTF, LOL but then I couldn't stop thinking about what was happening. Very clever scenes and dialogues between them!.
“I know when I'm awake and when I'm asleep," Ronan Lynch said.
Adam Parrish, curled over himself in a pair of battered, greasy coveralls, asked, "Do you?"
"Maybe I dreamt you," he said.
"Thanks for the straight teeth, then," Adam replied.”
Incorporating the point of view of Greenmantle and his wife seemed to me the best, because we can know the characters of better way . Piper surprised me!, a character who start to being a very secondary to have much involvement in the plot, and I liked it.
While Colin has left me a bittersweet feeling, it is that I expected a lot more, but still is not the end so it can be more about.
The end only makes me want to grab the next book even more !. It scares me what happens from now on but I have to be strong and go for it, I hope all ends well for my boys, it is that I never believed be so in love with this characters :)
“I'm glad you misdialed."
"Well. Easy mistake to make," she said. Might do it again." A very, very long pause. She opened her mouth to fill it, then changed her mind and didn't. She was shivering again, even though she wasn't cold with the pillow on her legs.
"Shouldn't," Gansey said finally. "But I hope you do.”
January 12, 2018
"His noble and optimistic friend was slowly opening his eyes and seeing the world for what it was, and it was filthy and violent, and profane, and unfair."
It's definitely the characters that make this series for me.
The actual plot and story have to be taken with a handful of salt, as a good 75% of the stuff that happens isn't explained, and you just have to roll with it.
Which is fine - if you are in the mood to be entertained without asking too many questions, and thankfully I was.
The hunt for Glendower continues on; but things for Blue and the Raven Boys become ever more dangerous. Maura is missing, the Gray man's ex-employer arrives to claim what he believes is his - and to wreak havoc with his psycho wife.
My love for Adam Parrish in this one knows no bounds! He is the most precious human being and I love him with every ounce of my being!
"He wondered if he was going to go through each year of his life thinking about how stupid he was the year before."
Also his scenes with Ronan are what I live for. Actual proof that Ronan has a heart of gold when it comes to Adam Parrish <3
Noah had less presence in this one which was sad because I love him, but the scenes he was in were wonderful; and Gansey needs no explanation - he is just Gansey, lovable, posh, sweet Gansey!
"It won't hurt me. This will be scary, but it won't hurt me. But fear hurt too."
Ultimately - the third book had a lot more scary scenes, monsters and villians, I am looking forward to wrapping it up with The Raven King!
"Blue was perfectly aware that it was possible to have a friendship that wasn't all encompassing, that wasn't blinding, deafening, maddening, quickening. It was just that now she'd had this kind, she didn't want the other."
It's definitely the characters that make this series for me.
The actual plot and story have to be taken with a handful of salt, as a good 75% of the stuff that happens isn't explained, and you just have to roll with it.
Which is fine - if you are in the mood to be entertained without asking too many questions, and thankfully I was.
The hunt for Glendower continues on; but things for Blue and the Raven Boys become ever more dangerous. Maura is missing, the Gray man's ex-employer arrives to claim what he believes is his - and to wreak havoc with his psycho wife.
My love for Adam Parrish in this one knows no bounds! He is the most precious human being and I love him with every ounce of my being!
"He wondered if he was going to go through each year of his life thinking about how stupid he was the year before."
Also his scenes with Ronan are what I live for. Actual proof that Ronan has a heart of gold when it comes to Adam Parrish <3
Noah had less presence in this one which was sad because I love him, but the scenes he was in were wonderful; and Gansey needs no explanation - he is just Gansey, lovable, posh, sweet Gansey!
"It won't hurt me. This will be scary, but it won't hurt me. But fear hurt too."
Ultimately - the third book had a lot more scary scenes, monsters and villians, I am looking forward to wrapping it up with The Raven King!
"Blue was perfectly aware that it was possible to have a friendship that wasn't all encompassing, that wasn't blinding, deafening, maddening, quickening. It was just that now she'd had this kind, she didn't want the other."
April 27, 2016
“Queens and kings, Kings and queens
Blue lily, lily blue, Crowns and birds
Swords and things, Blue lily, lily blue”
This series has reduced me to a barely functioning mess, making fan art and listening to fan mixes in my spare time. Which isn't anything wrong, except responsibilities. Responsibilities I have grossly neglected that really need to stop being grossly neglected.
These books just suck you in and take you prisoner. I feel like Maggie Stiefvater is a mad genius or something. The way she makes me feel for these characters, it's like a physical ache. Each book makes you feel like a friend, like a familiar, leaving little inside jokes here and there for you to pick up on. It makes you feel like you're a part of their quest, their awfulness and strangeness.
“Everything has gotten so ugly. It wasn’t supposed to be this way.”
This is the conclusion of my reread, and I am more convinced than ever that I was so oblivious. What was I do when I thought was I reading this book. I had such a superficial understanding of the workings of this plot and it's only with this reread that I truly understand and am impressed by the intricacies of the tale and complexities of the characters.
Piper and Colin Greenmantle were awesome additions to the Raven Cycle universe. I feel like my review of this story give off a semi depressing perspective of this series, which isn't a really accurate description because as hopeless and things may be, Maggie Stiefvater finds ways to break the bleak ice. Enter, the Greenmantles.
“Will you marry me?” she asked.
He thought about it. “I love myself the most, though. Are you okay always coming in second?”
“Samesies,” she replied.
I would love to think I would be the type of girl who'd answer with the same hilariously offhand comment and mean it, but I know my response would be more on the lines of
However, these two were so unapologetically 'evil', and so hilariously... married, that despite how badly they were fucking everything up, I wouldn't have wished it any different. (foreshadowing: I am 100% certain I will regret this statement with the release of The Raven King)
MY SHIPS ARE STRONGER THAN EVER.
“And then we never speak of it again,” Gansey said, mocking himself softly, and Blue was so glad of it, because she had played the words from that night over and over in her mind and wanted to know he had, too.
The impossibility of them together makes it so savagely sweet. Every moment they spend together leaves you heady, waiting on the next moment before the first one has even finished. You know these stolen moments are not enough. You know Gansey is living on borrowed time and even that will give out soon enough.
Ronan and Adam kept vanishing places together...
Ronan and Adam kept vanishing places together...
Ronan and Adam kept vanishing places together...
Ronan and Adam kept vanishing places together...
RONAN AND ADAM KEPT VANISHING PLACES TOGETHER...
*screaming internally*
*screaming externally*
*screaming eternally*
It was time to find Glendower. They all knew it.
My heart is so full. Full of Welsh kings, and late night phone calls, secret meetings, stolen touches, lost mothers, whispering trees, and the unavoidable awareness that each moment brings us closer to the end. When Glendower is found. When Gansey is dead. When everything will have to go back to normal, except we've all forgotten what normal even is.
Soon it would be behind him. Soon this school year, too would be behind him. Soon they would find Glendower, soon they would all be kings. Soon, soon.
OLD REVIEW-->
.::MY REVIEW FOR::.
⚬ The Raven Boys (book 1)
⚬ The Dream Thieves (book 2)
⚬ The Raven King (book 4)
.::ALSO, FOR ANYONE INTERESTED::.
⚬ This is the most Bluesy song I have ever heard: Drive
Your laugh echoes down the hallway
Carves into my hollow chest, spreads over the emptiness
It's bliss
It's so simple but we can't stay
Over analyze again, would it really kill you if we kissed?
All we do is drive
All we do is think about the feelings that we hide
All we do is sit in silence waiting for a sign
Sick and full of pride
All we do is drive
⚬ This is the most Pynch song I have ever heard: Take Me To Church
No masters or kings when the ritual begins
There is no sweeter innocence than our gentle sin
In the madness and soil of that sad earthly scene
Only then I am human
Only then I am clean
Amen. Amen. Amen
Take me to church
I'll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies
I'll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife
Offer me that deathless death
Good God, let me give you my life
_________________________
((f.d: the visuals above were edited by myself-- base images were found on google))
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